William P Smith

A dedicated teacher and community member, William Bill Smith, was never a patient man, and so it should come as no surprise that he made his exit a little earlier than his family and friends all would have liked. Born on January 25, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth McCarthy Smith (d. 2003) and Edmund L. Smith (d.), Bill passed away in the early morning on August 20, 2022.
In1971, Bill and his wife Joan (with whom he recently celebrated 48 years of marriage) left the city for a teaching job in East Bridgewater, where they have been ever since. Teaching first in the middle school and then settling in for more than 30 years at the high school, Bill became a fixture in the community and continued his service to the town through volunteer work and fundraising long after his retirement in 2006. His work in East Bridgewater has connected him to generations of families across town, and you couldn t go out with him anywhere in Massachusetts without someone coming up to say hello to their favorite teacher from way back.
Bill s commitment to his family was clear through his acts of service, working night shifts in addition to his time in the classroom. Together, Bill and Joan raised four children who are their greatest pride (and who begrudgingly accept that they ve all inherited the traits they found most annoying in their dad thirty years ago): Amy Ringuette, husband Rob Ringuette, and their children Owen and Madelyn of Attleboro, MA; Jill Smith and husband Brendon Nicholas, of Brooklyn, NY; Thomas Smith, wife Jessica Smith, and their children Landon and Camden, of Raynham, MA; Pete Smith and husband Luke Smith, of Greenfield, MA. Bill Gramps, to some of his favorite people delighted in his grandchildren and loved when the whole Smith clan could all be together. Bill worked hard all through his life and tried to leave things better than he found them. He did.
A funeral mass will be held at Holy Ghost Parish, 518 Washington Street, Whitman MA, on Tuesday, August 30th at 10:30AM. Interment will follow in the St. James Cemetery, Whitman. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St Francis House.