Bernard D. Smith

BREWSTER — Bernard Donnelly Smith of Brewster died on July 3, 2008, of complications from COPD and cancer. He was the husband of Anne Smith for almost 43 years.

Born June 28, 1941, in Waterbury, Conn., Bernie was the son of the late Frank and Rita Smith, longtime Orleans residents. The eldest of seven children, he grew up in Hartford and graduated from the Kingswood School. Bernie received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University, where he met his future wife, fellow Georgetown student Anne Curtis, of Chevy Chase, Md. They were married in 1965 and had four children: Kathleen Larson of Moscow, Russia, Margaret Benaka of Yarmouthport, Michael Donnelly Smith of South Boston and Heather Bergin of South Boston.

Bernie received a commission from the Coast Guard and served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967. During his Coast Guard career, the Smith family lived in Maine, New York, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia. In 1979, Bernie retired from the Coast Guard with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and the family moved to Brewster.

From 1980 to 1998, Bernie was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service. A proud Irish Catholic, he was an active member of Our Lady of the Cape parish in Brewster, where he served as a Eucharistic minister. He was also active in several veterans organizations, including the Wednesday morning group at the VA Primary Clinic in Hyannis. A strong proponent of education and learning, he pursued a number of interests through adult education, community college and online courses through the years. An avid Patriots and Red Sox fan, Bernie was also a computer enthusiast and amateur student of military history, enjoyed music as varied as ABBA and Tchaikovsky, and while he was not a beach-goer, he loved watching storms come in over the ocean.

After their retirement, Bernie and Anne enjoyed traveling together, taking trips and cruises to Alaska, the Panama Canal, Hawaii, the western United States, Italy, Ireland, the Mediterranean and Black Seas, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa. But his greatest joy was spending time with his four grandchildren: Madeleine Kay and Bridget Donnelly Larson, Elias Curtis Benaka and Reilly Anne Bergin.

Though "Bernie" to his friends, he was known as Donnie to his family. In addition to his wife, children and grandchildren, he is survived by siblings Jimmy Smith of Michigan, David Smith of Connecticut, Anne Mahoney of Orleans, Frank Smith of New Hampshire and Brewster, Mary Heikes of Rhode Island and Margo De Luca of New Jersey.

He spent his last two weeks surrounded by his wife and children and attended by the exceptional staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. A wake will be held at Nickerson Funeral Home in Orleans on Monday, July 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. A service will be held at Our Lady of the Cape Church in Brewster on Tuesday, July 8, at 11 a.m., followed by burial at Orleans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Our Lady of the Cape Church, Haiti Fund, 468 Stony Brook Road, P.O. Box 1799, Brewster, MA 02631.

Nickerson Funeral Home

508-255-0259