She was born on Aug. 13, 1921, in Painsdale, to an Upper Peninsula copper mining family with five brothers and a very hard working Croatian family, of which she was very proud her entire life. She was 100 percent Croatian, cooked the meals, told the stories and was always delighted to tell the history of her past. She had class, manners beyond belief and had a New York Times cross-word puzzle intelligence that few in the family could keep up with.
She was a great wife, a mother who spoke nothing but positive, a grandmother who made them all feel special, a great-grandmother who earned herself the name Grandma ”GG” and throughout life made more friends than Christmas cards could count. Needless to say, Mary lived a very full, active and long life.
Right up to the end she was driving around in her smacked up Jeep, going to garage sales, looking for antiques she could sell in her store. In years past she and her husband, Bob (Robert J. Smith, also deceased a few years back), ran a stained glass supply business on South Union, traveled around the country selling her hand painted wood and slate plaques at art fairs and always kept busy.
She was an avid cook, leaving over 1,000 cook books to her family, couldn’t buy enough cashmere sweaters and whenever possible worked in her garden planting flowers and moving rocks. She touched many people in many different ways and she will live on as long as she is remembered.
She asked that her body be cremated and that her ashes not be placed in the burial site next to her husband but instead, on top of him, to rest forever more.
Mary is survived by her two sons, Timothy R. Smith and Mark J. Smith. Tim is married to Mary S. Smith (Andy), was formerly married to Patty Corbett Smith, has an elder son, Jeffrey C. Smith, married to Melissa C. Smith, with four great-grandchildren, Izzy, Lucy, Sadie and Bernie. A loving daughter, Anne C. Smith, lives in Seattle, a younger son, Alex C. Smith lives in San Francisco, and a stepson who always felt equal, Jerry Swanson, now lives in Micronesia. Mark J. Smith, living in Cincinnati, was married to Mary B. Smith (recently deceased), has an elder daughter, Abigail C. Kenny (recently married to Art Kenny) and a younger daughter, Elizabeth B. Smith, all of Traverse City.
A memorial visitation will be held at Covell Funeral Home, 232 E. State Street, on Monday, Dec. 1, 2014, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Instead of sending flowers, gifts or money to a cause, just plant a flower in memory of her. She would like that the best!
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