William De Smedt

It is with great love and sadness that we announce the passing of William De Smedt on May 17th, 2026. The son of A. Theodore and Eleanor De Smedt, he was born May 16, 1943 in Passaic, N.J., and died the day after his 83rd birthday.

A folk singer and guitarist, scholar, author, veteran, and digital pioneer, he lived a full, rich, and varied life.

He was dedicated to the life of the mind and the pursuit of knowledge. He graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University and held three masters degrees; two from Harvard in Political Science and Russian Studies and one in Computer Science from Fairleigh Dickinson.

William was multi-lingual and translated radio intercepts from Russian to English for Army intelligence in the mid-1960’s while stationed in a small town along the border between West and East Germany. It was there he met his wife, Kathrin. They shared 59 years of love and laughter together.

Their many adventures took them to Russia, Italy, California, and up and down the northeastern U.S. They finally landed in Milford, Pa., living there together for 38 years.

William became a “knowledge engineer,” providing high-level software architecture expertise to Fortune 500 companies and the armed services. During his time consulting at Bell Labs, he made contributions to the automated phone services we all use to this day.

He wrote and published three science fiction novels, “Singularity,” “Dualism,” and “Triploidy.”

He is survived by his wife Kathrin, his brother Robert and his wife Dale, his son Jeffrey and his partner Lisa, his son Daniel and his wife Meike, and his beloved grandchildren; Molly and her husband Steve Doyle, Nathan, Dominick and Fiona. He is preceded in death by his granddaughter Kaylie.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date.

His family is grateful for the exceptional end-of-life care and support provided by Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.

William was an avid reader and a great lover of dogs. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Pike County Library, 119 Hartford Street, Milford, PA 18337 or the Pike County Humane Society, 189 Lee Road, Shohola, PA 18458.

Final funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Stroyan Funeral Home, 405 West Hartford Street, Milford, Pa. (www.stroyanfuneralhome.com).