Harry W. Smith, 87; tavern owner, WWII veteran

Harry W. Smith, 87, of Feasterville, a former Bucks County business owner and a World War II veteran, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Saturday at his daughter's home in Chestnut Hill.

Born in Ithaca, N.Y., Mr. Smith moved with his family to Philadelphia in 1927. He graduated from Frankford High School in 1939.

Mr. Smith studied aircraft maintenance at the Philadelphia Polytechnic Institute and received his aircraft and engine license. After graduating, he found a job at Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Co. in Middle River, Md., and worked on initial construction of the B-26 bomber.

In 1940, he returned to Philadelphia and took a job at the Fleetwing Aircraft Co. in Bristol. Later, he worked on the development of the B-29 bomber at E.G. Budd Co. in East Falls.

On Oct. 10, 1942, Mr. Smith enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Because of his aircraft experience, he was assigned to the 48th Squadron's 313th Troop Carrier Group in Florence, S.C.

Shortly after turning 21, he left for Casablanca and Oujda in Morocco. His group provided support to the Army's 82d Airborne, and participated in "drops" over Gelia, Palermo, Naples, and Foggia in Italy, his family said.

His unit participated in D-Day and other military operations. Mr. Smith was honorably discharged Oct. 11, 1945.

Afterward, he worked with his father, Leonard Daniel Smith, proprietor of Smith's Café in Frankford.

In 1946, he met Mary Theresa Henwood at a dance, and they married in 1947. The couple moved to Northeast Philadelphia, Cheltenham, and finally Feasterville, to raise their six children.

From 1953 to 1961, Mr. Smith owned Harry's Irishman's Café on Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia. In 1961, he sold Harry's and became proprietor of the Puss N' Boots Tavern in Fairless Hills.

"It's a regular neighborhood bar," his daughter Rose Marie Smith McCabe said. "Everybody knows everybody. A lot of men come in with their wives."

He retired in 1988, when the Smiths moved to Lillian, Ala., where he lived for 20 years. He moved to Cheltenham in 2008 and then to Chestnut Hill to be with family.

Besides his wife and daughter, Mr. Smith is survived by sons Harry W. Jr., Eric D., and Gregory M.; daughters Janice Mary and Anita Marie; 11 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and a brother.

Friends may call after 10 a.m. today at St. Genevieve Catholic Church, 1225 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown, where a Funeral Mass will be said at 11. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.