Walter Smith, Retired O.C. Judge, Dead at 70; Had Parkinson’s Disease

Walter Edward Smith, a retired Orange County judge, has died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 70.

Smith died last week. He had retired on disability in 1979.

Born in Kingston, N.Y., Smith moved with his family in 1944 to California, where he graduated from Compton Junior College and UC Berkeley.

In 1958 he opened a law practice in Anaheim, later moving his office to Orange. From 1963 to 1967, he served as a trustee of the Fullerton Union High School and Junior College District and, later, as a member of the North Orange County Junior College District board.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Smith was a judge for the Orange County Municipal Court. In 1972, Gov. Ronald Reagan appointed him to a seat on the Orange County Superior Court.

Smith, who lived in Monarch Beach, is survived by his wife of 48 years, Shirley Boone Smith; daughters Alison Smith Fay and Kimberly Smith Fix; and grandsons David Matthew Fix, Ryan Christopher Fix, Thomas Nicholson Fay and Matthew Edward Fay. Also surviving him are a sister, Dorothy Baker, and a brother, Victor H. Smith.

A memorial is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Newport Center United Methodist Church, 1601 Marguerite Ave., Corona del Mar. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Parkinson’s Resource Organization, 73-700 Elf Paseo, Suite 2, Palm Desert, CA 92260-4323.