Alfred A. Smith

Alfred A. Smith, age 82, died Wednesday, December 27, 2017, as a result of injuries from an automobile accident. Alfred was born on September 3, 1935 to the late Horace and Virginia Smith in Front Royal, Virginia. He attended Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. After graduation he attended Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan for one year and then transferred to Bloomfield Seminary in Bloomfield New Jersey. DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois was his next stop where his Teaching Education began. Much later he completed his Master’s in Education from Michigan State University. On June 9, 1959 he married Janice Arlene Koeman. They were married for 30 years. Alfred was a public school teacher for well over 30 years and worked at the Grand Rapids Public schools for the majority of that time where he spearheaded all aspects of the Sidewalk Safety Patrol for Harrison Park Elementary School for many of those years. He was a strong advocate for safety and following the rules and utilized this platform in order to promote that. He also enjoyed farming and spending time on his acreage in Holland (pre-1980) and Crockery Twp. (1978-2017) He enjoyed collecting things and was able to find a use for absolutely everything. In his retirement he served as a custodian at Nunica Bible Church. He is survived by Janice Smith the mother of his six children; children, Abraham Smith, Crystal (Stephen Bosch) Bosch, Elizabeth (Thomas Taaffe) Smith, Wendy (Mark Hanko) Hanko, Hans (Tabitha Smith) Smith, Rachel (Troy Medina) Medina; 5 grandchildren, Katrina Smith, Kelsey (Hanko) Freedman, Alan Smith, Ariana & Haleigh Smith; brother, Norman (Peggy) Smith Sr. and sister, Ellen Moore. He is also survived by 7 nieces and nephews, Norman Smith Jr., Charles Smith, Laura Smith, Sandra Moore, Timothy Smith, Sue-Ellen Moore, and Jeffrey Smith. The Funeral Service for Alfred will be on Friday, January 5, 2018 at 11:00 AM at Nunica Bible Church with Rev. James Lee officiating. Visitation will be on Thursday, January 4, from 4-7 PM at Klaassen Family Funeral Home in Grand Haven. Interment will be at the Nunica Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Nunica Bible Church or The Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 211 of Grand Haven.