Muriel Benz Smith

Muriel Benz Smith, 98, of East Orleans, passed away peacefully at Cape Cod Post Acute Care in Brewster on March 18, 2025. Muriel Anna Benz was born to Edward G. and Anna O’Brien Benz and grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1948 and later taught elementary school in Sandwich, Massachusetts, before meeting her future husband, Stanley E. Smith Jr. After their first date Stanley proclaimed, “I’m going to marry you!” They wed in Belmont in December 1953. Muriel and Stanley shared a devoted and loving marriage and had two children, Stanley E. Smith III and Diane Elizabeth Smith.

Muriel continued her career in education, joining her husband in the Nauset school district, where she taught reading for 30 years. During the summer she met Stanley’s Rock Harbor charter boat each day and provided lunches, or if necessary, rallied mechanics from Nauset Marine. She and her children spent sunny days at the harbor and stormy days at home monitoring the CB radio, with Muriel anxiously wringing her hands. Her son Stanley later worked as his father’s mate before taking over the family business as captain of the Nekton.

Muriel and Stanley also shared a love of camping on family trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, throughout the West, Nova Scotia, and Europe, as well as skiing each winter in New Hampshire. After retirement they continued their travels, visiting Hawaii, the Caribbean, Alaska, and making several trips to Europe and camping in the Southwest and Canada. They eventually chose to spend their winters in the Florida Keys.

However, their greatest joy was their three grandchildren, Christopher, Taylor, and Sam. Muriel and Stanley cherished every milestone, from birth to graduation and beyond. They loved spending as much time with them as possible, and their love was wholeheartedly reciprocated by the grandchildren, who also cherished their grandparents. Their legacy to the grandchildren includes devotion to family, an appreciation for camping, boating, travel, and a deep connection to the Keys.

Muriel was a vibrant, social person with a wide range of interests. She enjoyed spending time at the Orleans Yacht Club, swimming, reading, cooking, entertaining, listening to opera, knitting, hooking rugs, and playing thousands of games of Rummikub. Family dinners were always enriched by Muriel’s appreciation for good company, her engaging banter, and her irrepressible presence. She never met a dancefloor she didn’t love.

Muriel was predeceased by her son, Stanley E. Smith III; her husband of 56 years, Stanley E. Smith Jr.; her sister, Elizabeth Benz Douthhart; and her brother, Edward Benz. She is survived by her daughter, Diane Smith Keon and husband, Ted; her grandchildren; Christopher and wife, Crystal, Taylor, and Samuel; two great-grandchildren, Mallory and Stanley Keon; as well as nieces and nephews: Ellen Justison, Melissa Philbrick, Robert Douthart, Elizabeth Jochem, Alison Czuchra, and Edward Benz.

A Memorial Visitation will be held at the Nickerson Funeral Home, 77 Eldredge Park Way, Orleans, MA on March 27 from 4PM - 6PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Smith Family Scholarship at Nauset Regional High School, attn: Scholarship Coordinator, 100 Cable Road, Eastham MA, 02642.