On Saturday, March 15th we said our final goodbyes to David Smith, 79, a lifelong Belvidere resident. David was born February 12, 1946, in Belvidere, IL, son to Phil and Nellie Maude (Hicks) Smith.   Dave enjoyed many hobbies over the years.  He was an avid wood worker, spending hours in his beloved woodshop building beautiful furniture, canoes, bowls, ornaments and most recently, jewelry.  He spent many winters snowmobiling with friends at Lake Gogebic. Dave had many other hobbies including stained glass making, building model rockets and screen printing. He was always watching YouTube for ideas of new things to make or new hobbies to try.  Dave was an engineer at heart. If you could think up an idea he could design and build it.

Dave worked for Sears and Greenlee, but the highlight of his career was working for Van Rossmiller at Rockford Chemical as a Boiler Repair man. Dave could point out where the boiler was in any building around town and what it was like working on it.  He frequently reminisced about his work and the many adventures they had and all the wonderful people he worked with.

Not only was Dave a man of many talents, hobbies and interests, he was also a wonderful human.  He was kind, caring, thoughtful, patient and always thinking of others.  He would drop anything he was doing to help a friend or give some advice on a project.

Dave will be missed by many including his nephews, Duane (Kim) Smith and Doug (Christa) McClain; sister in-law, Carla Smith; great nieces, Michaela & Madison McClain; and many beloved friends.

He is predeceased by his parents, Phil and Nellie; and brother, Sherwood Smith.

A burial will take place at Belvidere Cemetery at 11:00 a.m., Monday, March 31, 2025. Pastor Pam Rossmiller will officiate.

To share a memory, please visit www.andersonfcs.com.