Constance E Smith

WEST COLUMBIA - The memorial service for Constance “Connie” Edwards Smith, 87, will be held at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, 2015, at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends in the church dining room following the service. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Mrs. Smith died at 5:00 a.m. Monday, September 21, 2015, at Laurel Crest in West Columbia. Born October 30, 1927, in Kinston, N.C., she was a daughter of the late Roy Lee and Esther Jernigan Edwards. She married O. Stanley Smith Jr. on October 10, 1948, who predeceased her on May 3, 2015. Connie loved the arts. She was an accomplished pianist, having graduated as a music major from UNC Greensboro formally the Woman’s College. She taught piano, played the piano for church and music clubs, loved plants and arranging flowers, entertaining friends and family, and was an avid walker. She attended every cultural event that she could. She and her husband lived in Columbia for most of their lives, except for a few years when they lived in Beaufort while he served as developer of Fripp Island resort. She held leadership roles in a number of organizations in Columbia. She was past president of the Afternoon Music Club and the Evening Music Club of Columbia. She was a member of the Boards of Directors of the Women’s Symphony, the Columbia Garden Club and the McKissick Museum at the University of S.C. As a member of Trenholm Road United Methodist Church, Mrs. Smith was pianist for Sunday School classes and other church events. She received an award for distinguished service from the United Methodist Women and was chair of the church’s flower guild. She was a member of the Olive Moffet Circle and Medlock Sunday School Class. While a resident of Beaufort, she was a member of St. Helena’s Episcopal Church, receiving special recognition for service to the Women of the Church. She was also First Regent of the Thomas Heyward, Jr. chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was active in preservation in Beaufort, opening historic Tidalholm, their residence, for tours and hosting luncheons for the Beaufort Land Trust. Connie was also a faithful University of S.C. fan and supporter and for decades regularly attended Gamecock football and basketball games with her husband. The Smith’s chain of car washes, Constan, Inc., reflected the first syllables of the couple’s first names, Connie and Stan. Surviving are her children, O. Stanley “Chip” Smith III, and his wife, Mardi Graham Smith, Roy Grant Smith and his wife, Anne Manly Smith, Frederick Houston Smith and his wife, Wendy Rhodes Smith; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, O. Stanley Smith Jr. and a brother, Roy Lambert Edwards of Durham. The family wishes to thank the caregivers at Laurel Crest and Mary McCallum of Always Best Care. Memorials may be made to Trenholm Road UMC, 3401 Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29204.