SMITH, Wayne Melbourne

1918 - 2011  (92 years)  Submit Photo / Document

 Set As Default Person

• Name	SMITH, Wayne Melbourne
  Birth	9 Dec 1918	Midlands, Beaver, Pennsylvania, United States
  Gender	Male
  _TAG	FS 110 year rule
  Burial	Apr 2011	San Joaquin, Merced, California, United States
  Death	14 Apr 2011
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I1313	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Family 1	BIRCHFIELD, Aletha ,   b. 1920, United States United Statesd. DECEASED
  Children	+ 1. SMITH, Miriam Felicia
  Family ID	F181	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

  Family 2	SMITH, Ellen Pepper Withers ,   b. 31 Aug 1939, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United Statesd. 5 Dec 2016, San Mateo, San Mateo, California, United States (Age 77 years)
  Family ID	F815	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

• Photos

  Wayne Melbourne Smith.jpg

  
  

• Notes

  !OBIT: Wayne Melbourne Smith, 92, died of lung cancer on April 14, 2011, at his home in Daly City, California. Born 1918 in Midland, PA, the son of Percy and Martha (Lucas) Smith, Wayne Smith attended Clark University in Atlanta, GA, and, following World War II, Fisk University in Nashville, TN. During WWII, he was a private in the U.S. Army, 368th Infantry, Fort Huachuca, AZ (1941-42). After an honorable discharge, he joined the U.S. Merchant Marine. His career as a musician began in his early 20s as a band singer. He toured the U.S. with the African-American "Wings Over Jordan" choral group. After the war, he began playing the guitar to accompany his singing, and became a solo entertainer. During the folk music boom of the 1960s, he was part of the coffee-house and club scene, performing throughout the Bay Area, most notably at the Wine Cellar in SF's Ghiradelli Square. In the mid-1970's, he earned a lifelong Adult Education Teacher's Certificate, and taught a course entitled "American Musical Heritage," working mainly with seniors. In 1998 he suffered a stroke, but returned to work a year later on a part-time basis. He continued to work through October 10, 2010. He is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Ellen "Pepper" Withers Smith; a daughter from his previous marriage to Aletha Birchfield, Miriam Felicia Navigato of Columbus, Ohio; three grandchildren, Steven Gereghty of Waco, TX; Sonya McVay of Santa Rosa, CA; and Mar Skillicorn of San Francisco, CA; a great-granddaughter Rhyan Charis McVay; Juliette (Brannen) Smith, widow of his brother Allen; sister-in-law Mary C. Smith and her husband, Dr. Tony Ezenweze Onyisi; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to a charity of one's choice.