Edna May Smith

Smith, Edna M., 87, of Eastham, MA, formerly of Orleans, MA, Harwichport, MA, Jensen Beach, FL and Auburn, ME, passed away on February 9, 2014. She was born in Auburn, Maine to Thurlow W. and Mary Ellen (Tait) Smith. Edna graduated from Edward Little High School, Auburn, Maine, after which she attended and graduated from Bliss Business School, Lewiston, Maine. She was employed for many years as an office manager and bookkeeper at Empire News of Lewiston, Maine. She later attended the University of Maine in Augusta, Maine and Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. She moved to Cape Cod in 1967. She owned and operated a bed and breakfast, Sea Watch, in Harwichport for many years. Later she opened The Quail’s Tail, an antiques and collectibles shop, on Main Street in Orleans. She was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary/Nauset Flotilla for over 40 years where she served several times as Flotilla Commander . She worked tirelessly every summer doing boat safety inspections in and around the Orleans area and spent many years volunteering her time manning the gate at the Woods Hole Coast Guard Station. In her later years, she was a volunteer at Cape Cod Hospital Mugar Center and The Fontaine Medical Center in Brewster. She enjoyed solving the daily newspaper crossword puzzles and became excited if she managed to solve the daily Cryptoquip. She loved traveling and reading murder mysteries. She was a member of The Brewster Baptist Church where she sang in the choir and served on the Board of Missions.

Edna is survived by her sister, Grace E. Hildreth, of Gorham, Maine; her nieces, Ruth A. Warren of Marshfield, MA; Suzanne Dion Hildreth of Jaffrey, NH; Gail E. Gray and husband, Stephen, of Buxton, ME; Brenda L. Costa and husband, George, of Taunton, MA; nephews Timothy S. Hildreth and wife, Christine, of Westbrook, ME; and Colby M. Hildreth and wife, Tina, of Gorham, ME. She is also survived by great grand nieces and nephews Jennifer Fontaine, Joshua Warren, Allyson, Timothy and Lindsey Hildreth, Karyn Hoffman, Kendra Vaughn, Nicole Hopkins, Jason Gray, Kenneth, Todd and Eric Dion and Tina Martin, Kaileigh and Colby Hildreth as well as numerous gr.-gr.-grand-nieces and nephews.

A special “thank you” to Elizabeth Covell, David Zimmerman, the staff at Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Hope Heath Hospice.

Services will be held at the Brewster Baptist Church, 1848 Main Street (Rte.6A), Brewster on Saturday, February 15 at 11:00 a.m.. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Brewster Baptist Church Missions, 1848 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631.