Alden "Jim" Smith

Alden James Smith died peacefully at his home in Valparaiso, Indiana surrounded by his family on November 5, 2020, after a valiant battle against cancer. Alden, known to his family and friends as Jim, was born to Eleanor Anderson Smith (1909 - 2002) and Harold Stanley Smith (1908 - 1980) in Chicago on April 18, 1940. He was named for Eleanor's younger brother Charles Alden Anderson, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy who was lost when his SOC-3A Seagull biplane was shot down near Gela, Italy during the invasion of Sicily in World War II.

Jim leaves behind his beloved wife Martha (nee Spivak), his daughter Deborah Smith Havighorst (Peter), son Mark James Smith (Rachel), and his daughter Karen Irene Smith (Michael Dickover). He was proud to leave his legacy behind in his dear grandchildren Andrew (Brooke) Smith, Katherine Havighorst, Michael Havighorst, Alex Smith, Eleanor Dickover, and his equally loved bonus grandchildren Ethan, Aidan, Evan and Logan Scott. He felt lucky to have the opportunity to also love and enjoy great-grandchildren Avah, River and Oliver Smith.

He also leaves behind his loved, valued and trusted brothers and business partners Robert (Susan) Smith of Waupaca, WI and Richard (Suzanne) Smith of Chicago, as well as brothers-and-sisters-in-law, and many nieces and nephews that knew and loved their Uncle Jim.

Raised in the Avalon Park neighborhood of the south side of Chicago, Jim earned his diploma at Chicago Vocational School and was an official "grease monkey" during his time there. Jim graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. He was honorably discharged from the United States Army in 1970 after serving as a staff sergeant (SSG) and member of the 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He ran Alden Manufacturing Company, a metal stamping company in the speaker industry, in Chicago with his brothers until their retirement in 2005.

Jim's family describes him as a gentle man with a quiet and reliable demeanor who was an early to bed and early to rise proponent. He was described as a "thoughtful introvert" who was never boastful or controversial, but rather a steady, well-measured individual who liked to engineer his own solutions when problem solving. He was a man of few words, but that meant that whatever he did say, his audience listened to with intent. His grandchildren loved that they never knew where a conversation with him would lead to—from talking about school bus hunting trips to cooking a dinner on a car engine, to how tall Shaquille O'Neal is. They loved listening for his announcement from the "crow's nest" on Shadeland that the sun had set again.

He never skipped dessert, but always kept himself in shape. He was an avid runner and loved running at the Homewood-Flossmoor High School track and at parks in Valparaiso. When he could not run anymore, he started to ride his bike, and always found a way to stay active, even if it meant doing exercises with the walker.

Jim was proud of but very modest about his military service. People were always surprised to hear that this mild-mannered husband and father trained in the Special Forces and earned a "Green Beret." He dismissed his service as merely being a member of the reserves, but his Army records showed differently. He was proud of his airborne status and the 20 jumps he took including one from a helicopter and the balance from airplanes. He also spoke fondly of his summer at the United States Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Fort Greely in Alaska in 1969 and enjoyed sharing his pictures of training exercises on glaciers. A quote he shared implied his feelings of superiority for the Airborne: "There is great rivalry between the airborne and infantry troops at Fort Benning, Georgia. The ultimate claim appeared on a sign in the chaplain's office. It read, 'Remember, God is Airborne.'"

During his years at Alden Manufacturing, and before that at Smith Manufacturing, the business begun by his father in 1950, one of his favorite parts of the job was welding. He was an expert welder and lamented later in life that there are not enough people in the world with this vital skill.

His family will always remember and continue to quote his silly jokes that always made them laugh. He liked to announce at the end of the day that, "it looks like it's going to get dark again." These jokes always elicited giggles from children and eye rolls from teens but his "that's not corn, that's Kellogg's" sense of humor was as reliable as he was. "While some were outstanding in the field, I was out standing in the hall," and "Do you know who's tall? Shaq's tall!" will long remain part of the Smith vernacular. Even in the last days of his illness he continued to tell jokes to family and the hospice staff—trying to make everyone feel better.

Jim's family will always remember his love for cars. He told many stories of the cars he rebuilt and reconditioned, and the cars he loved and despised--the Nash, Triumphs, the Austin Healey, Mustangs, Jeeps, pick-up trucks, the Corvette, the Miata and his epic love/hate relationship with the Defender. He loved the Chicago Auto Show and television shows about restoring vintage cars.

They will also always remember his love for Wall Street Week, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Barron's. He was a very popular resource for his grandchildren's middle school stock market projects.

One of Jim's favorite quotes was from Mark Twain: "What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head and is known to none but himself." Contrarily, Jim made his real life known to those he loved and left behind. And they are grateful to him for it.

A wake will be held on Monday, November 16 at Tews-Ryan Funeral Home in Homewood, IL from 1 – 5 p.m. and will be followed by a service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alden J. Smith Welding Scholarship Fund at Prairie State College. Donation information can be found at https://give.classy.org/ajsmithwelding or checks can be made payable to Prairie State College Foundation and mailed to 202 S. Halsted St., Chicago Heights, IL 60411. For additional information contact tews-ryanfh.com or 708-798-5300