Bernon Smith

Bernon Mervin Smith passed away on March 4, 2016 in Orem, UT. He was born 20 June 1930, the son of Clyde Albert and Dorothy Mae (Mack) Smith in Slatington, Pennsylvania. He grew up in various locations in Pennsylvania and served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Midway. He married Irene Ethel Adams on 30 June 1951 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The newlyweds lived in State College, Pennsylvania while Bernie attended Pennsylvania State College. Their two sons, James Lee and Michael Craig, were born during his school years. He graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from Penn State in June 1954 and took a job with American Bridge. He worked there for 11 years, during which time he worked on various projects throughout the United States. In 1961 he obtained his Professional Engineering License. They lived in Michigan and then moved to California. In 1965 he started his own company, Adams & Smith, Inc., and continued to build bridges and other structural steel projects. Throughout his career he built bridges including the Badger Bridge in Long Beach, CA; the Estoria Bridge over the Colombia River in Oregon, and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. He moved to Orem, UT in 1993 when he relocated his company headquarters. He retired in 2000 but continued to work as a consultant on various projects as well as on multiple dispute boards. He enjoyed history and travel and visited many places around the world. He was an obligatory golfer and loved to fly his airplane. He loved his dogs and his grandkids, but even moreso his 19 great grandkids who called him Grampa Bernie. They softened him and he could never tell them no. He changed endless sets of batteries in endless noisy toys. He supported them in all their endeavors and spent countless hours watching pinewood derbies and recitals. He would always start a movie or participate in a nerf gun war. If it was important to them it was important to him. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Dolores Parry. He is survived by his wife Irene and two sons James Lee (Dawn Tyler) Smith, Highland, UT, and Michael Craig (Mary Simas) Smith, Galt, CA, and his sister Patricia Snyder, five grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren. Services will be held Saturday, March 12, 2016, at 1:00 at the Sundberg-Olpin Funeral Home, 495 S. State Street, Orem, UT. Visitation will be from 11:45-12:45 prior to the services. Interment will be at the Orem City Cemetery.

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