Edwin 'Ed' Merrill Smithers, 87

Edward M. Smithers of Sammamish, Wash., passed away Feb. 2, 2013.

Ed was born May 13, 1925, to Carl and Margaret Smithers in Kalispell.

He graduated from Flathead County High School in 1943 and entered the Navy. After the Second World War he began his tenure with the United States Coast Guard, retiring in 1974 as a lieutenant commander.

On July 13, 1945, he married Joan Bondeson in Kalispell.

Survivors include his loving wife, Joan, of Sammamish; sons, Thomas of Sequim, Wash., Mark of Woodinville, Wash., and Eric of Kenmore, Wash.; brother, William, of Kalispell; and four grandchildren.

Funeral services were at Flintofts in Issaquah, Wash., on Feb. 11.