Page 40 - PGM Compendium

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Of
M⸫W⸫ Wayne I. Smith

2008-2009

Most Worshipful Brother Wayne Irvine Smith was born to Ernest
and Helen Smith on 17 May 1939, in Portland, Oregon, where he
spent his formative years until seventh grade, when the Smith family
moved to the Oregon Coast. He attended junior high school in
Toledo (Oregon) and matriculated to Newport (Oregon) High
School. At the age of 16 he left high school to join the United States
Coast Guard. He served 22 years on active duty in the Coast Guard,
retiring in 1977 at the age of 38 at the rank of Lt.
Commander.

He began his Coast Guard career as an enlisted man, chipping paint and cleaning bilges. Wayne
served four of those enlisted years as an instructor and Company Commander at the Coast Guard
Recruit Training Center, Alameda, California. After being promoted to Petty Officer First Class,
he was selected for the Officer Candidate program, graduating 6th in his class of 106.

Wayne had been trained in Naval Engineering, NBC Warfare defense, and Marine Inspection. He
served as the Engineer Officer onboard ship, and as Assistant Chief of Naval Engineering in
Juneau, Alaska. In Marine Inspection billets, he served as an Investigating Officer, Merchant
Marine Licensing, and was dual-qualified as both a Hull and Machinery Inspector. He was
Resident Inspector for the three Portland, Oregon, shipyards. His sea duty included tours on the
Cutters Fir, Wachusett, Avoyel, Winona, Northwind, and Diligence. In 22 years of service, he
enjoyed every station where he was assigned, and fondly recalled and utilized the experiences of
his military career.

He completed high school via the GED program and attended Clackamas Community College in
Oregon City, where he studied agriculture. After retirement from the Coast Guard, Wayne and his
family settled in Hood River, Oregon, raising beef cattle on a small farm. He consulted for several
steel fabricators in the valley and was refrigeration engineer for a major fruit packing house. He
held a number of offices in Hood River’s American Legion Post 22, focusing on youth and family
programs. Wayne was President of the Parent Teachers Association and Cub Master for the Odell
Cub Scout pack. In 1980 he accepted a special assignment with Lockheed Shipbuilding Co. in
Seattle, where he was a Test & Trials Engineer for US Navy and Washington State Ferry system
contracts. He was the Lockheed Project Coordinator for the Navy’s Landing Ship Dock propulsion
test system in Philadelphia for 2 years.

After successfully completing his assignment in Philadelphia, Wayne and his new family (wife
Jan and stepson Douglas) relocated from the East Coast to Whidbey Island. He continued with