B. Loyal Smith was born on March 24, 1916 in Appleton, Minnesota. He moved to Walla Walla in 1923, attended local schools, graduated from Walla Walla High School and Whitman College. He earned a master's degree at the University of California at Berkeley 1941. On May 16, 1941, he married LaVon Kilbourne in Los Angeles. He was an assistant city engineer in Walla Walla prior to working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Portland as part of the World War II effort. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and attended officer's training at Yale University. His four years of service included overseas duty at Okinawa, designing air fields. He was discharged in 1946 as a captain. From 1946 to his retirement in 1972, Mr. Smith was the Walla Walla County engineer. During that time, he also acted as flood control engineer for the Mill Creek Flood Control District. After retirement, he was a part-time engineer and consultant for Whitman College until 1979. He was a Walla Walla City councilman for seven years and served as mayor. He was extremely active in civic affairs, including serving on the Whitman College governing board and the Walla Walla School District. He died May 20, 1997.