Mary Catherine Smith, age 78, of Rochester Hills, Michigan passed away on Friday, August 23, 2024. Mary was born in Ferndale, Michigan, on January 29, 1946. She graduated from Highland Park High School and felt the call to help her community as a nurse, leading her to attend Oakland Community College, earning an associate's degree in nursing. She and her beloved husband Charles were wed on June 24, 1967. The two settled in the Upper Peninsula and she took a position as the only full-time nurse at Lake Linden Clinic where she found herself among new and caring friends and colleagues. As she worked, the clinic became affectionately known as "her clinic" and she went above and beyond to care for it and the people they served. Her husband can even recall them spending an evening after work replacing the wallpaper. While in the Upper Peninsula, she loved to hike and camp in the Porcupine Mountains State Park, slowing life down a little and reconnecting with nature. They moved back to the Rochester area to be with family. She will be missed by all who knew her and all who were helped by her kindness.
Mary is survived by her husband, Charles Smith; her sons Ted Smith and Greg Smith (Nicole); her grandchildren Cooper Smith and Bridget Smith; her brother James McDonald; and many loving nieces and nephews.
A visitation for Mary will be held Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Pixley Funeral Home, 322 W. University Dr., Rochester, Michigan 48307, followed by a memory sharing at 11:00 AM.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Mary McDonald Smith Scholarship Fund at Oakland Community College via a check made out to the OCC Foundation Mary Macdonald Smith Scholarship or online at https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/adaptive-donor-form/?formId=cc7ce61d-0158-4c9e-af46-2f005a4bf1dc&envid=p-BPlmk98agE6OiP1yLNYI_A&zone=usa.
