Daniel Harold Smith

Daniel Harold Smith was born November 9, 1927 in Port Washington Wisconsin, died November 25, 2021 in Port Charlotte Florida.

Daniel was born in Nov 1927 in Port Washington Wisconsin to Oliver H Smith and Leota S (Cooley) Smith. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary Frances (French) Smith, and siblings Bert, Virginia, and Lincoln. He is survived by his son, Douglas D. Smith of Berkeley, California, and Randall D. Smith of Las Vegas, NV.

Dan was born and raised in Port Washington, Wis. He attended Port Washington High School. As a young man he was a Boy Scout in Troop 37, worked as a Fisherman for the family business. As a teenager during WWII, Dan worked as a US Forest Service lookout at Stanley Butte in southern Idaho in the summer of 1942.

He enlisted in the US Navy in 1945, received basic training at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes in Chicago, Naval Training Centers in Pensacola FL, Gulfport, MI, and Corpus Christi, TX. He served aboard the US Naval Aircraft Carrier USS Badoeing Strait (CV-116) stationed at various west coast ports including San Diego, Hunters Point, and Mare Island in California..

After receiving his honorable discharge in 1947, he attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis where he met his future wife Mary French, of Galesville, Wisconsin. He transferred to the University of Wisconsin Madison graduated with a BS in Business Administration in 1951.

He worked for many years as General Manager and Vice President 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 did work to help with plans to eradicate the Sea Lamprey invasion of the Upper Great Lakes which was decimating the native Lake Trout population.

Dan, along with his father Oliver H Smith, was instrumental in founding the civic tradition known as Port Fish Day in 1964. Before it became known as Fish Day, it was called Port Smoked Fish Jamboree.It later became Port Fish Day, the world's largest outdoor one day fish fry.

Dan and Mary raised three children, Nancy, Doug, and Randy in Port Washington He volunteered as a Boy Scout leader and was an active member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ. Dan was active in the Jaycees, as well as the Kiwanis. Dan was also a member of the Ozaukee Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.

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, Sauk Creek Nature Preserve.

Dan retired and moved to Punta Gorda Florida 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 cremated remains will be buried in the Union Cemetery in Port Washington, Wisconsin at a future date in 2022.