Dr. William Vaughn Smith

Dr. W. Vaughn Smith, 84, died January 27, 2012 in Wenatchee. He was born Dec. 20, 1927, to Clarence W. and Alma Strawn Smith in Wilson, Okla. He moved with his family to San Anselmo, Calif., during World War II, where his father helped to build Liberty Ships. He was graduated from Tamalpais High School there and joined the U.S. Navy at the end of the war. After his family moved to Abilene, Texas, he matriculated at Hardin-Simmons University and received a Bachelor of Arts from the university in 1950. He entered Baylor Medical School in Houston and there met Carolyn Winston Freeman, whom he married June 8, 1954. The same year he received his M.D. degree. He interned at the U.S. Naval Hospital, St. Alban’s Station, Long Island, New York; in Denver, Colo.; and at King County Hospital, Seattle. He joined the Wenatchee Valley Clinic as an orthopedic surgeon in 1959. In addition to treating the many Wenatchee Valley residents who still remember his professional care and personal kindness, he volunteered many hours providing specialized orthopedic care to children in the Wenatchee Valley. He was a member of the Wenatchee Valley Medical Society and the Washington State Medical Association. He was an active member of the community, volunteering in Mobile Meals and serving as an elder and deacon of Saddlerock Evangelical Presbyterian Church, past president of the board of the Wenatchee Golf and Country Club, past Applearian, and a Mason. After his retirement in 1992, he enjoyed playing golf at the Country Club and doing woodworking, creating beautiful pieces of furniture for his family. Traveling in the U.S. and abroad with his wife Carolyn, other family members, and friends was especially enjoyable for him. He also worked for the Social Security Department to perform exams on patients who were filing for disability, and he was called several times to be an expert witness by the state in legal medical cases. He was known as a warm and generous host to those who visited his home. He was preceded in death by his parents and his daughter Nancy, who died in 1999. He is survived by his wife Carolyn W. Smith of Wenatchee; daughter Ann and son-in-law Bill Folden, Woodinville, Wash.; son Paul and daughter-in-law Tammy Smith, Redmond, Wash.; grandsons Matthew Folden and his wife Amanda, Waterville, Wash., and Cameron Vaughn Folden, Woodinville, Wash.; granddaughter Rebecca-Ann Folden, Wenatchee; great-grandson Travys Rion Brown, East Wenatchee; sister and brother-in-law Clarice and Charles Cole, Santa Fe, New Mex.; and uncle, G. W. Strawn, Eldorado, Okla. A service will be held at Saddlerock Evangelical Presbyterian Church on Thursday February 2, 2012 at 11:00am. Attendees are invited to a reception in the church immediately following the service. Members of the family will attend a burial service afterward in Wenatchee Valley Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Dr. Smith be made to the Central Washington Hospital Foundation/TCU Hospice. Services are under the direction of Jones and Jones-Betts Funeral Home.

Tributes

Dr. William Vaughn Smith

December 20, 1927 - January 27, 2012