Margaret Ann Smith

Margaret Ann Smith was born on August 19, 1943 in Los Banos, California to parents, John Henry Smith and Wanda Marie Arnold. She passed away at 4:30pm on October 25, 2017 at the family home in Coarsegold, California after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. She was 74 years old. She was the second born of four siblings: Clifford Thomas Smith, Margaret Ann, Grace Laverne Harrell, and Wanda Louise Arnold.

Margaret never married, but her family was her world. Along with her mother, Margaret was dedicated to her immediate family in helping to raise Grace’s four daughters while her sister remained her constant companion. She and her beloved sister, Wanda, lived a simple life together, always living in close proximity to their niece Diana Lynn McVay for the last twenty-three years. In the last several years, however, they lived with the McVay family household as the three generations lived, loved, and even bickered through life.

Margaret’s education was limited in her younger years, though she was proud to attend Fresno Adult School and earned her high school diploma in her late 50s. Although she didn’t work in traditional work roles, she shared her love for the arts by teaching ceramics and painting at the Fresno Adult School.

She was an accomplished artist and an avid bowler. She was a member of The Bowling Buddies in Fresno, where she received many trophies and awards. She was most proud of the Diane Annette Award, for bowling the highest scoring game.

In life, Margaret faced many challenges, but she chose to focus on what she could do, rather than what she couldn’t. In the family homestead, located in Pinedale, Margaret was a caretaker to anyone who needed it. She, Wanda, and Mama raised and reared sister Grace’s children. When her Mother became ill, Margaret, with her generous heart, nursed her mother in her last year. But that was our Margaret. Dependable. Reliable. She was a constant source of trust, loyalty, and so much laughter. She loved with her whole heart.

She LOVED. Margaret loved her family, art, movies, jewelry, and traveling. She could be counted on to have the newest DVD on her shelf to share with the kids when they visited. She loved the independence that came from having a driver’s license that she got when she was in her 30s. As an artist, she painted mostly landscapes, so her first visit to the Pacific Ocean for the time was awe-inspiring and many paintings came of her time near the ocean. She was always up for a road trip, but when she lived in Pinedale, she enjoyed walking to the local Wal-Mart on a daily basis, if even just for a candy bar. You could always count on her having a hidden candy bar- she may not have shared it, but she would jokingly tell you about having it.

Margaret leaves behind a family that loved her, most notably her sister, Wanda and niece Diana, who lovingly returned the caretaking role these past six months when Margaret became bedridden. Surely, the investment Margaret made in driving Diana to and from nursing school so many years ago paid off, as Diana used her medical background to care for Margaret in the last six months.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Fresno Adult School in Margaret’s name.