William Smith Jr., 78, enjoyed restoring a 1941 Ford convertible

William J. Smith Jr. 78, of Chester, passed away on Feb. 26, 2018 at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H.  He was born June 20, 1939 in Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of William J. Sr. and Elizabeth (Castles) Smith.   He lived and attended school in the Baldwin area.

On Oct. 5, 1957 he married Joyce Fesco in Arlington, Va.

Mr. Smith lived on Long Island most of his life and worked as a plant manager for Studley Paper Co. for 44 years.  After his retirement in 1995, he moved to Chester, Vt.

His hobby during retirement was restoring his 1941 Ford convertible.

He is survived by his wife Joyce of Chester, two daughters: Jill Matarese of Manchester, Vt., and Joanne Kotlarz of Durham, Ct.; seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren; his sister Joan Wright of Las Vegas, Nev.; and several nieces nephews and cousins.

Mr. Smith was predeceased by his parents and sister Carol DeMaio.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. on Monday March 5, 2018 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Chester with the Rev. Peter Williams officiating.  Burial will be at a later date in the North Street Cemetery in Chester.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Chester Police Association, P.O. Box 370 Chester, Vt. 05143 or to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Kidney Transplant Center Lebanon, N.H.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield.