Catherine B. Smith

Catherine Barry Smith, 61, of Marietta, GA passed away on April 3, 2021. She was born in New York in 1959 to Dr. Richard Barry and Harriet Barry. Growing up, Catherine, known as Cathy, embraced all things life had to offer despite living with a chronic illness that might hold most back. She enjoyed camping with her family in Canada, traveling throughout the U.S., and sail boating in the Mystic, CT Seaport, where she grew up.

Catherine graduated from Wheelock College in Boston, MA with a degree in Early Childhood Education. A creative and engaging teacher who was passionate about children, she was first employed by the Houston Independent School System in Houston, TX and later the Central Square School District in Central Square, NY.

Although Catherine encountered many health battles throughout her life, she lived with her motto of having an “attitude of gratitude” and soaked up everything life had to offer. A lover of dogs, she volunteered with Canine Assistants; and loved spending time with her dogs Bailey and Rangeley, cross stitching, traveling, and being on the boat with her friends and family in her second home of Ocean Springs, MS.

Catherine was a kind and gentle soul who was always willing to lend a helping hand or a listening ear. A holiday, birthday, celebration, or hardship wouldn’t go by without a hand-written card from her, or a phone call just to say she loved you. The other motto she lived by, which she so appropriately had inscribed in ink on her left arm, was “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

Catherine is survived by her husband of 37 years, Scott Alan Smith, of Marietta GA; her daughter, Laura Smith Long (Cameron), of Raleigh, NC; her brother Peter Barry (Amy), of Pisgah Forest, NC; and her mother, Harriet Barry, of Arden, NC. She also leaves behind her nephews, Will and Jamie Barry; her niece, Julia Barry; and cousins, Katherine and Alexander Cooley. A celebration of life will be held at a later date this year.

Donations in her honor would be welcomed by Canine Assistants at https://www.canineassistants.org/ or 3160 Francis Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30004; or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) at https://www.jdrf.org/ or PO Box 3790, Boone, Iowa 50037 (donation form and check only).