Smith, Wilford E., 1916-2010

Teacher and military chaplain.

From the description of Wilford Smith oral history interview : Tape and transcript, 1973 July 23 [sound recording] / conducted by Richard Maher. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122629879

Faculty member in Department of Sociology at Brigham Young University, 1947-1981.

From the description of Personal narratives, [ca. 1980]-1998. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80903827

From the guide to the Wilford E. Smith personal narratives, circa 1980-1998, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Mormon author and historian.

From the description of Utah's prison system, 1961. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122536556

Smith was a professor of sociology at Brigham Young University.

From the description of Interview and biographical materials, 1986. (Brigham Young University). WorldCat record id: 51603407

Wilford E. Smith (born 1916) was a Mormon missionary and college professor in Utah.

Wilford Emery Smith was born May 16, 1916, in Holladay, Utah. He grew up on his family farm and attended Irving School in Holladay. From 1932 to 1934, he attended Granite High school. In April 1935 he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. On September 2, 1936, he was called to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand and served there from 1936 to 1939.

After his mission he attended Brigham Young University with the intention of training to become a school teacher. He also met Ruth Christensen in 1939 and they married on August 31, 1940. They had five children. He transferred to the University of Utah in 1940. In June 1943 he graduated wth a bachelor's degree from the School of Education with a major in sociology and a minor in psychology.

In 1944, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Army and served in the South Pacific during the Second World War. He was awarded battle stars for the Leyte and Okinawan campaigns. He was an active reservist from 1946 to 1976 and retired as a full colonel, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal. He became a professor of sociology at Brigham Young University in 1948 after completing his master's degree in Educational Administration and received his Ph.D. at the University of Washington in 1952.

In 1981, he was called to serve as a mission president in the Fiji Suva Mission. He has served in various other positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as on multiple educational boards.

From the guide to the Wilford E. Smith papers, 1934-2000, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)