Olga Toledo Smith

Olga Toledo Smith passed away on March 2, 2012 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was born on December 6, 1917 in San Andrés, Colombia, the daughter of Melota Fiquaire and Leonidas Toledo.

She was predeceased by her husband, Francis V. Smith (“Smitty”) in 1967 who had served in the U.S. Army during the Word War II era, her parents, and her eight siblings. She is survived by three sons: Francis J. Smith and his wife Ann of Harwich Port, Mass., Leon M. Smith of Capitola, California, and Victor E. Smith and his wife Sheila of Sandwich, Mass. She leaves six grandchildren: Alexandra Smith of Sandwich, Mass., Kimberly (Smith) Munson and her husband Brandon of Washington, Jacqueline (Smith) Noyce of Oregon, Mark Fowler and his wife Anna of Longmeadow, Mass., Jamie Fowler and his wife Amanda of Stonington, Conn. and Jeffrey Beaudoin and his wife Jennifer of Sandwich, Mass. She had eight great-grandchildren.

During the Great Depression, Olga emigrated from the island of San Andrés, Colombia to Panama at the age of 16 in 1933 in order to find work in the Panama Canal Zone. There she later met her husband Smitty while working at a “PX” store. They married in 1941 and after her husband’s discharge from the U.S. Army in 1945 they remained in Panama while Smitty was employed by the U.S. Government working in the Canal Zone. Their three sons were born in Panama. In 1954, they moved to Connecticut, where they settled in Enfield.

Olga re-entered the workforce in 1964 and was employed at Walter’s Business Forms in Bloomfield, Conn. and later at Crosier Race in Hartford, Conn. as a Bindery Worker in the Envelope Department until she retired in 1984. She resided in Enfield, Conn. for many years, and in 1986 moved to Hyannis, Mass. In 1999, she relocated to Springfield, Mass. where she lived until 2005 when she became ill. She then returned to Cape Cod to live with family until 2006 at which point she became a resident at the Royal Cape Cod Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Buzzards Bay.

Olga will be remembered as one strong in body, will, and faith. Her sense of humor, discipline, and courage will not be forgotten. Olga raised three boys largely on her own. She did push-ups every morning and enjoyed being active outside. She loved working in her yard and performed all her own yard work until the age of 87. Her life’s focus was her boys and she was enormously proud that all of them completed higher education on their own. Her three sons recall her as an inspirational, strong woman who worked hard to provide for them. Her witty personality was evident wherever she went.

Her family would like to thank Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Tradewinds Day Health Center of the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, and Royal Cape Cod Nursing & Rehabilitation Center for their support and care of Olga. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to any Alzheimer’s charitable organization. A memorial mass will be held in Olga’s memory on Saturday, March 10 at 11:00am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in East Sandwich, Mass.