Walter Arnold Smith

An inventor, businessman, and loving father, Walter Arnold Smith passed away at his home in Loomis on March 6, 2022. He was 68 years old. Walter was born in Salinas, CA., to Margot Wiesinger Smith and the late Jerome Wesley Smith; they divorced when he was nine. He spent his childhood in Los Angeles, CA, Hilo and Honolulu, HI. where he attended Iolani School. He moved from Hawaii to Charlevoix, MI. to start high school before moving to Berkeley, CA. At Berkeley High he joined the water polo team and played under legendary coach Pete Cutino. After graduating high school, he continued his academic and athletic career at Cal State Hayward (East Bay), earning his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management in 1975. While attending university, his water polo team regularly practiced with the U.S. Men’s National Team as they prepared for the 1980 Olympics, which were unfortunately boycotted by President Carter.

After graduating from Cal State Hayward, he spent time working for General Signal before founding his own computer software and engineering company, U.S. Remote Controls where he designed and planned for clients such as San Francisco Airport, UCSF, BART, and the California State Parks. His last project before retiring was security and parking design at UCSF’s Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco.

He was an active board member on the Belmont/ Redwood Shores Little League where he spent many seasons coaching. In his later years he moved to Loomis, CA, where he took up gardening, enjoyed local festivals and cook-offs and quick trips to Tahoe. Walter loved to travel; he finally had time to visit places he wanted to go such as Texas, Hanoi, and Shanghai. Nothing made Walter happier than spending time with his sons Chris and Alex.

He will be sorely missed by his family: his sons, Alex and Chris, his mother Margot Smith of Berkeley, CA; his sister Janet Linney(Bob) of Watsonville, CA; his brother Peter Smith(Nancy) of Clifton, VA; and his brother Lawrence Smith(Diane) of Pellston, MI.; his nieces and nephews Jake and Claire Linney, Helen and Carl Smith, and his ex-wife Carolina of South San Francisco. A celebration of life is planned for the future. For more information, please contact BPA2016@ aol.com.