Roy Smith, a longtime local politician who dedicated his life to serving Ypsilanti Township and the Washtenaw County area, died on Monday at age 87.

Smith launched his career in politics in 1955 after winning an election for the Ypsilanti Township Tax Review, and his commitment to serving the community is what his friends, family and colleagues most remember about him.

The World War II veteran was elected Ypsilanti Township supervisor in 1959 and simultaneously served as chairman of the Washtenaw County Board of Supervisors in 1966.

Friends said he took pride in getting Washtenaw County roads paved and leading the effort to get Ford Motor Company to donate land for Ford Lake Park in Ypsilanti Township.

“He was a man of action and that relates to his professional career in politics, where he was a problem solver who knew how to get things done, as well as in his personal life,” said Smith’s son-in-law, Tom Loyola. “When things needed doing, he got them done and faced them head on, and that was one of the overriding characteristic in his life.”

From 1966 to 1972, Smith served in the Michigan House of Representatives, where Loyola said he played a central role in a bipartisan tax reform effort. He briefly served as the City of Saline administrator from 1973 to 1974, then spent another eight years in the House. In 1982, he was elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners where he served until 1992.

Loyola said Smith was also proud to have helped bring three fire stations to the township, to have helped secure a land donation for the Ypsilanti Michigan State Police post and to have helped keep the General Motors Hydromatic Plant in Ypsilanti Township during his tenure.

Current County Commissioner Wes Prater said Smith, a Republican, sat on the opposite side of the aisle, but was always a man who put the community before politics.

“As far as working for the community and working to benefit the community, Roy Smith was always helpful in those instances. He was a very thoughtful and reasonable person,” Prater said. “During campaigns, you’re on different sides for different reasons, but once a campaign is over, you work together for community’s good, and I believe Roy really did that.

“He wanted to do things that would benefit the communities that he represented and wasn’t the person who was just trying to garner attention. He took representing the people very seriously.”

Representing the people was the theme of a book he wrote called “Born To Serve.”

His pastor said Smith loved his country. “He was an extremely patriotic man and very dedicated to public service, and he dedicated his whole life to those things,” said Marc Graham, pastor at the Cavalry Baptist Church where Smith was deeply involved.

Shirley Smith, Roy’s wife since 1949, said her husband was “a man of integrity and honesty.”

“He loved serving people. If there were needs he saw, he tried to meet those needs, even if it was a personal one,” she said. “He opened up our community to a lot of things.”

Aside from politics, Loyola said Smith was dedicated to helping others on a personal level. Smith was also an avid gardener, builder, woodworker and oil painter. Loyola said Smith regularly made numerous crafts, rocking horses and furniture for his family and grandchildren.

“He often said if he could have planned his life or laid the plans himself, he couldn’t have done a better job,” Shirley Smith said. “He thought God planned out his life and did a good job.”

A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Calvary Baptist Church, 1007 Ecorse Road, Ypsilanti. Burial will follow in Alban Cemetery. Contributions in Smith's memory may be made to Arbor Hospice, the Gideons or Calvary Baptist Church. Friends may call at Stark Funeral Service from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday. There will also be visitation at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of service on Friday.