Bernard Joseph Smith

Bernard Joseph Smith died peacefully at home in the early hours of Monday, December 30, due to complications from acute myeloid leukemia. He was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend known for his love of writing, cycling, and fishing. Born in Des Moines, Iowa on August 17, 1953, Bernie was the third of six children. He was raised in Stacyville and Des Moines, Iowa and attended St. Theresa's Catholic School and Dowling Catholic High School before enrolling at the University of Iowa. After completing one year at Iowa, he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1973, where he served as a radio operator until his honorable discharge in 1975. He returned to Iowa after his naval service and majored in journalism. In 1977, he met Sue Davis, who would become his wife. They married in 1979 and welcomed their first child, Brady, in 1983 and a daughter, Sarah, in 1986. Bernie first worked as a journalist for the Ottumwa Courier, The Clinton Herald, and the Des Moines Register Syndicate before moving to Cedar Rapids, where he worked in public relations and writing and editing for 25 years. In Cedar Rapids, Bernie also fell in love with cycling, completing his first RAGBRAI in 1994. He went on to participate in the ride more than 10 times. He also completed numerous editions of Tour of the Mississippi River Valley, the Tour de Wyoming, and two versions of the Triple Bypass in Colorado. He started his last RAGBRAI in 2023, before withdrawing with symptoms of what turned out to be leukemia. In 2010, Bernie and Sue left Iowa for Colorado, living first in Fort Collins, then in Longmont, and finally Grand Junction, where they moved in 2021. Bernie spent the last years of his working life as a technical editor. He was also a prolific writer of fiction and nonfiction. With Sue, he wrote Cedar Rapids: Prologue and Promise, a history of Cedar Rapids commissioned for the 150th anniversary of the city's founding. He also wrote and self-published Miles to Go: An Alzheimer's Journal, the Detective Red Shaw series of novels, a volume of poetry, and a cancer memoir, That Time I Had Cancer. He published numerous op-eds and letters to the editor in local media as well. Bernie was preceded in death by his father, Robert, his mother, Rosemary, and a sister, Kathleen. He leaves behind his wife, Sue, his son and daughter, a daughter-in-law, Chandani, a granddaughter, Aashna, and a wide circle of extended family and friends to whom he was known as "Berndad," or simply "Bern." To honor his memory, his family invites those who loved him to ride their bikes, go fishing, or donate blood, a gift Bernie gave many times throughout his life and from which he benefited immensely during his illness.