Daniel Harold Smith

Daniel Harold Smith, a native of Port Washington, Wis., died Nov. 25, 2021, in Port Charlotte, Fla.  

Daniel was born on Nov. 9, 1927, to Oliver H. Smith and Leota S. (Cooley) Smith.

He was preceded in death by his wife Mary Frances (French) Smith, daughter Nancy and siblings Herbert, Virginia and Lincoln.

He is survived by his son Douglas D. Smith of Berkeley, Calif., and Randall D. Smith of Las Vegas, Nev.

Dan was raised in Port Washington, Wis. He attended Port Washington High School. As a young man, he was a Boy Scout in the early days of Troop 37 and  worked as a fisherman for the family business.

As a teenager during World War II, Dan worked as a U.S. Forest Service lookout at Stanley Butte in southwestern Idaho in the summer of 1943.

Dan enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1945, received basic training at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes in Chicago and  naval training centers in Pensacola, Fla., Gulfport, Mich., and Corpus Christi, Texas. He served aboard the  escort carrier USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) stationed at various West Coast ports, including San Diego, Hunters Point and Mare Island in California.

After receiving his honorable discharge in 1947, Dan attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis., where he met his future wife, Mary French of Galesville, Wis. He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 1951.
    He worked for many years as vice president and general manager of Smith Bros. Fisheries of Port Washington. Dan managed all of the Smith Brothers fish markets in Port Washington and Milwaukee, but also worked in many roles, including the wholesale fish and caviar businesses.
    Dan served in the 1960s as an advisor to the Department of the Interior on the National Fisheries Advisory Committee, where he worked to help with plans to eradicate the sea lamprey eel invasion of the upper Great Lakes, which was decimating the native lake trout population.
  

an, along with his father Oliver H. Smith, was instrumental in founding the civic tradition known as Port Fish Day, “The World’s Largest One-Day Outdoor Fish Fry” in 1964. He was on the first Fish Day committees, and was the founder of the Smoked Fish Jamboree, which preceded Fish Day in 1963.

Dan and Mary raised their family in Port Washington. He volunteered as a Boy Scout leader and was an active member of the First Congregational Church. Dan was active in the Jaycees, as well as the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs. Dan was also a member of the Ozaukee Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons and Shrine organizations.

Dan was active in civic life, having served for multiple terms as a board member and president of the Port Washington-Saukville School District Board of Education.

Dan was instrumental in helping the restoration of Port Washington’s 1860 Lighthouse and was a benefactor to the Port Washington Historical Society. He also supported the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust and its Sauk Creek Nature Preserve.

Dan retired and moved to Punta Gorda, Fla., in 1992, was a member of the Methodist Church and was active in the Punta Gorda Isles Yacht Club, as well as various civic men’s clubs. In 2012, he moved across the Peace River to Southport Square in Port Charlotte, a senior living community, along with his close friend Mrs. Georgia Buxton.  

Dan passed away at age 94 on Thanksgiving Day, 2021, at Harbor Health Care at Southport Square in Port Charlotte.  

His remains will be buried in Union Cemetery in Port Washington, Wis., at a future date in 2022.
 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the local charity of your choice, the Port Washington Historical Society (www.pwhistory.org) or the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust (www.owlt.org).