ADRIAN – Alden Forrest Smith, a former Adrian mayor, city administrator, and chairman of the city’s planning commission, died Dec. 11 at his Adrian home. He was 89.
He died after a bout with cancer, his daughter, Sue Smith, said.
Mr. Smith retired in 1998 after 13 years as the city administrator. He previously was the mayor from 1982 to 1985.
In retirement Mr. Smith was a part-time consultant for the city in 2003 and then was the interim city administrator in 2006. He also volunteered for the Lenawee Historical Museum, where he was a past board member and treasurer.
“He was extremely fair and compassionate,” Ms. Smith said. “And he wasn’t the one to take sides and he would listen to everyone to find the best solution for the community.”
“He was passionate about the city because it was his home town and he wanted to see the best things happen to Adrian,” she said. “And he worked tirelessly to do everything he could to help Adrian succeed.”
His proudest achievement serving the city was the passage of a bond issue for the completion of the new Adrian fire station building, the daughter said. In 2012, the city named the building after him on his 80th birthday.
''I've had a unique opportunity to serve the city that I grew up in, that I was born and raised in, as mayor and, for the last 13 years, as city administrator,'' he told The Blade when his retirement was announced in February, 1998, after the Adrian city commission voted “with deep regret” to accept his resignation.
Mr. Smith actually wanted to retire a year earlier, but the late Adrian Mayor Sam Rye, who called him ''one of the backbones of the city,” talked him into staying one more year.
''He's an excellent person to work with. He certainly knows the city backwards and forwards,'' Mr. Rye said at the time.
Mr. Smith was appointed to a city commission vacancy in 1980, then elected to that seat the following year.
On Sept. 21, 1982, the city commission appointed him mayor to replace Aldun Pifer, who had resigned. Mr. Smith was elected to a two-year term as Adrian mayor in 1983.
Mr. Smith resigned as mayor in May, 1985, after being chosen to become city administrator. He replaced James Fridd, who retired later that year.
Before becoming city administrator, Mr. Smith was a production control and materials manager at the Bohn Aluminum & Brass Division in Adrian, where he worked for 20 years, initially as an accountant.
From 1970 until 1979, he served on Adrian's planning commission and was its chairman from 1974 to 1978.
Mr. Smith was born Nov. 30, 1932, in Adrian to Thelma and Albert Smith.
In 1952, he married Marian Willett. She died in 1995.
A 1950 Adrian High School graduate, Mr. Smith volunteered for the Air Force in 1951 and then was in communications in Morocco until his honorable discharge in 1955.
Upon his discharge, he returned to Adrian to work in accounting at the former American Chain and Cable for a few years until he went to work for Bohn Aluminum & Brass.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Adrian Jaycees chapter, where he had served in various positions at the local and state level and was a recipient of the Jaycee Senator award.
Surviving are his son, David Smith; daughter, Sue Smith; sister, Lois Snyder; brother, Richard Smith; six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Mr. Smith was preceded in death by a son, Richard Smith, and sister, Kathryn Smith.
He was an avid fan of Detroit and the University of Michigan sports teams. He also enjoyed gardening and taking long walks around town with his dog.
A video recording of the funeral services is accessible on Mr. Smith’s tribute-wall webpage at www.WagleyFuneralHomes.com through mid-March.
The family suggests tributes to Lenawee Historical Museum or Hospice of Lenawee.
First Published December 24, 2021, 5:00 a.m.