Obituaries : Albert Royal Smith; Retired Chief Engineer

Albert Royal Smith of Palmdale, who was a retired chief engineer with the Cleveland Water Department and a veteran of World War I, has died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Sepulveda. He was 94.

Smith died Thursday, Aug. 16, of cancer, said Paul Lance, a close friend for 12 years.

Born in Alpena, Mich. Smith served in the U.S. Army during World War I. He was assigned to the first American Tank Corps and was in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in France.

He was married to Alvesta Gens in 1919. She preceded him in death in 1974. He began working for the Cleveland Water Department in 1924 and retired as chief engineer in 1959. After retiring, he and his wife moved to Palmdale to live near her sister and brother-in-law.

Smith was a member of the Moose Lodge No. 507 of Legion No. 205, BPOE Lodge No. 2027, American Legion Post No. 348, World War Veterans Post No. 3552, the National Rifle Assn., California Rifle and Pistol Assn., the Desert Marksman Rifle and Pistol Assn. and the Palmdale Chapter of AARP.

He is survived by a cousin, Edith Weide, of Alpena, Mich.

A funeral service was held Tuesday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale. Arrangements were handled by Halley-Olsen Funeral Chapel in Lancaster. Donations can be made in Smith’s name to any charity.