Sylvia Smith Thompson

On Saturday evening February 23, 2019, Sylvia Smith Thompson, loving wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully in her home in Taneytown, Md. at the age of 93, after a 4 year battle with dementia.

Sylvia was born on April 3, 1925 in Washington, D.C., graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School, and raised her family in Silver Spring, Md. She loved gemstones and minerals, spending countless hours cutting, shaping, and finishing stones into jewelry, and was co-owner of Candlelight Jewelers in Silver Spring.

In retirement, Sylvia split each year living in both Silver Spring and Boynton Beach, Fl. She traveled back and forth between the two homes in various motorhomes that she enjoyed driving and traveling in. She loved to play golf with her husband and friends, and often played at the course they lived on in Florida.

For her final 14 years, Sylvia moved back to Maryland to be closer to her family, becoming a happy resident of Taneytown. She enjoyed the change of seasons, and loved driving around exploring the countryside. She loved spending time with family and friends the most, and took pride in always looking her best when dressing festively for the holidays.

Sylvia was a woman who loved to laugh. She had that infectious type of laugh that would instantly warm your heart as you shared stories with her, and a sense of humor that could make anyone smile. She loved animals. She enjoyed her pets, from dogs to her various birds, and even the stuffed animals that you could find strategically placed around her home.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Calvert Leroy “Cotton” Thompson, her sister Jeanne Carolyn Smith, and step-children Larry Thompson and Beverly Armentrout. She is survived by her brother Theodore Hunter Smith and wife Mary, daughters Nancy Sky and Michele Brooks, a niece, 3 nephews, 12 grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, or a Hospice of your choice.

Family will receive friends at Witzke Funeral Homes, Inc., 5555 Twin Knolls Rd., Columbia, MD 21045 on Monday, March 4th, from 10am to 11:30am, where funeral services will begin at 11:30am. Interment Fort Lincoln Cemetery.