Nancy C Smith

Nancy Cutler Carey Smith passed away and returned home to heaven on August 27, 2021.

Nancy was born on September 28, 1929, to Robert and Emilie Eaton Carey in Holyoke, Massachusetts. She would be joined later by her younger sister, Janice. The family lived in North Amherst, Massachusetts, until Nancy was eight years old and then moved to Holyoke, where Nancy attended the local schools. Upon graduation, she attended Framingham State Teachers College and graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in Education.

After graduating from college, she spent one year in Cleveland, Ohio, as a dietetic intern at St. Luke’s Hospital. She then moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and was employed as a dietician at New England Deaconess Hospital from 1952-1954.

In the summer of 1951, before moving to Cleveland, Nancy met a nurse who introduced her to Russell Smith. She and Russell were married on June 27, 1954, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The couple moved to Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and lived there for a year where Russell was employed at Pratt and Whitney, a division of United Technologies. In June of 1958, they were blessed with a son, Jeffrey S. Smith.

In 1961, Russell was transferred to Lake Park, Florida, continuing his employment with Pratt and Whitney working at their Research and Development Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Jeffrey was soon to be joined by two sisters, first Wendy, and then Lynn. While living in Florida the family enjoyed weekend outings to the beach and boating on the ocean and attended St George’s Episcopal Church. Mom was involved in the PTA in Lake Park and served as a den mother for Jeffrey’s cub scout troop.

In 1970, the family moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho. They bought a home in the New Sweden area and Russell began working for the Idaho Nuclear Engineering Laboratory.

Mom loved her home and its beautiful yard. She spent many summers making raspberry, strawberry, and crabapple jellies and jams from the berries and fruit picked from the yard.

Mom joined St John’s (later to become St Luke’s) Episcopal Church in 1971 and would be a member for 40 years. She served as Pledge Clerk, was a member of the church choir, and served on the Altar Guild. Mom was a homemaker much of her life, but in later years when her children were a bit older, went to work for Kmart Corporation. She remained there for 15 years, retiring in 1991.

Mom was a “people person”. She enjoyed visiting with fellow parishioners during coffee hour at her church. She served as a volunteer both at Sacred Heart Hospital and Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. She became a Reading Grandmother at several local schools listening to young readers fine tune their skills. She especially enjoyed her lunch and dinner outings with the “ladies”.

Mom loved reading and enjoyed a wide variety of books. Saturdays were often spent at the Idaho Falls Public Library where mom would go upstairs to the grown-up books, and we would head downstairs to the children’s section to choose books to read for the week. Mom also enjoyed riding her bike and she and the girls would often ride to the New Sweden School in the summer to enjoy a picnic lunch under the cool, shade trees. She played tennis in her younger years. She also enjoyed attending the Idaho Falls Symphony concerts and would often drag Wendy or Lynn out on cold, winter nights to attend them with her. Mom was a wonderful cook. Suppers were homemade and swerved around the dining room table, each one of us at our place. Her chocolate brownies, pumpkin bread, and “Aunt Nancy’s” coleslaw will always be remembered. She enjoyed knitting and enjoyed making winter scarves for her children and grandchildren. She had a wonderful sense of humor. Many family gatherings were graced by her laughter. She loved cats, too many to name or remember through the years, as there was always more than one around the house.

Her greatest love was her family. She loved family gatherings and talking to or hearing stories about her children and grandchildren, as well as, sharing her stories with them. When the grandchildren began participating in school and sporting events, she enjoyed going to watch and support them. Mom was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Emilie Carey, her husband, Russell on May 17, 2003, and daughter Wendy Crawford on July 27, 2020. She is survived by her children, Jeffrey Scott Smith of Warsaw, Indiana, and daughter, Lynn Schroder (Steve) of Dell, Montana. She is also survived by son-in-law Bruce Crawford, grandchildren Tyla Rae Cox (Bob) Red Rock, Montana, Gavin Smith (Heaven) of Twin Falls, Idaho, Tyson Smith (Ashley) of Rigby, Idaho, Jasper Schroder (Chelsea) of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, Emilie Lynne Schroder of Dell, Montana, and Danielle Smith of Peru, Indiana. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank everyone who has reached out to us during this difficult time in prayers and love. A graveside service is scheduled for Thursday, September 2, 2021, at 1:00 at the New Sweden Cemetery.

We are so grateful and feel so blessed to have had mom as our mother and grandmother. She will be in our hearts forever. Mom passed away one day before what would have been Dad’s 98th birthday. We can’t think of anything he would have wished for more than to have his beloved “Nan” finally home with him again.