BANGOR – David Oaksman Smiley III, a noted member of the greater Bangor community and former downtown ladies’ clothing retailer, died Friday at the age of 86 following a long illness.

His son, Thomas Smiley of Brewer, on Monday described his father as a “very kindhearted type person. He didn’t really ask a lot of others and was really just asking a lot about other people … It didn’t matter what social background they came from, he just loved everybody.”

Smiley’s outlook on life was greatly influenced by author Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote several books on positive thinking.

“Whether it was something his children were doing or somebody at work, he would always try to point out the positive things,” Thomas Smiley said. Another great influence in Smiley’s life came from the poet Robert Frost, whom he studied under as a student at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass.

“He was a very learned man, yet very humble about it,” Mary Gray of Orrington said Monday. Gray and her late husband had been friends of the Smileys since the two couples were married in 1946. Both couples were married at Essex Street Baptist Church of Bangor, where they had been actively involved since their marriage. Smiley sang in the church choir and was very supportive of vacation Bible School, Rev. Randall Wilbur said.

The owner of a downtown Bangor ladies’ clothing store for more than 50 years, Smiley joined his father’s business, The System Co., in 1941.

Eventually he bought a building and moved the clothing store from 58 to 98 Main Street.

After the 1958 move, he changed the store’s name to Smiley’s, or “The Little White House of Fashion” as it also was known. Smiley claimed the purchase of the building allowed him to become a successful retailer because he was able to avoid high rental costs that often make the retail business difficult.

Smiley couldn’t credit technology for his success, however. He refused attempts his children made to put a computer system in the store. Until the store closed in 1991, all of the clothing inventory was kept on cards, Thomas Smiley said.

“There were 12-hour days where he was right there at night, taking care of business,” Thomas Smiley said.

A Mason, Smiley was a longtime member of St. Andrews Lodge in Bangor. His true love, however, was the Maine coast and sailing.

Smiley owned several boats in his lifetime and built an 18-foot sailboat at his home on Chamberlain Street before his children were born. But a 30-foot schooner named Felicity truly summarized his feelings for the pastime. In Latin, Felicity means happiness. An English major, Smiley was well versed in Latin and was given the nickname “The Walking Dictionary” by college friends who often turned to “Oaksman” for help. Some even said he had a photographic memory.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 15, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.