Jean Elizabeth Smith

Her work on Earth done, Jean Smith began her new life with the Lord on the 9th of December, 2017. She entered the world on the 27th of May, 1923, in a private home on Neville Island (a patch of land in the middle of the Ohio river near Pittsburgh); the first child born to William and Mary Wallace.

Raised in South Heights, she attended nearby Ambridge High School. By the 9th grade her hair had turned a beautiful snow white. It would be her distinguishing feature. Upon graduation she landed a clerical job at the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation. She met her husband, Chuck Smith, there. They were married in July 1944; separated before Thanksgiving. The following July she gave birth to her only child, Dennis.

The domestic arts, travel and music were her passions. She made a lot of her clothes on her Singer sewing machine; knitted numerous sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens and socks; crocheted vests and handbags, pot holders and dish cloths and tops on dish towels that could be affixed to the refrigerator handles. Gourmet scones, shortbread, potato soup and onion rings are some of the food she served.

Always ready for an adventure, she would hop into her car or van and be off to places such as Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon, Erie’s Presque Isle and the U.S. Brig Niagara, Chautauqua Institute and Niagara Falls. Relatives were frequent destinations. The Raleigh clan offered side trips to Carolina beaches, pork barbecues and hush puppies. In Florida she visited St. Augustine and St. Petersburg, Daytona Beach and Cypress Gardens, Pensacola and the Florida Keys; drank fresh squeezed orange juice, dined on gazpacho and Key Lime Pie. A cousin in San Francisco showed her the sights there, treated her to lunch at a winery featuring French bread from his favorite bakery, an assortment of local cheeses and a bottle of wine. Numerous trips were made between Pittsburgh and Seattle with stops to see the Wisconsin Dells, eat at Mr. D’s Doughnuts in La Crosse and visit the Jolly Green Giant at Blue Earth, Minnesota. Many other trips were taken in the United States and Canada.

Music defined her life. In the 30’s and 40’s she listened to songs on the radio then play what she heard on the piano. She acquired a large repertory of music that she used to entertain friends and church groups. Her formal training came from private lessons on Bach, undergraduate studies at Geneva College and a Master’s program at Duquesne University. She was employed as a church organist, a teacher in the Hopewell school district and gave private lessons. Music is what she loved, it was her life.