Katherine Ann Stewart Smith

Katherine (Kathie) Stewart-Smith, 70, passed away August 14 surrounded by her family. Born to Paul and Marilyn Stewart, she attended Broad Ripple High School and Butler University, where she majored in dance.

Kathie worked as a sales associate for LS Ayres, eventually becoming a department head, and later managed the first Brookstone retail store in the city. When her father retired from Butler, the family opened Recollections, an antiques shop at 52nd and College Ave. Kathie served as manager of the shop, together with her parents, until 2003 before striking out on her own.

A compassionate and caring person, Kathie was comfortable with people from all walks of life. She and her husband Steven became well-known fixtures at various auctions, estate sales, flea markets and dusty second-hand shops, hunting for treasures throughout the Midwest, in France, and in the Netherlands. When the Indiana State Fairgrounds hosted flea markets and antiques fairs, the Smiths (with loveable Pekingese Lulu) were a familiar and welcome sight. Her lively website engaged collectors from near and far, including many international buyers.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and by her beloved son LonPaul. She is survived (and greatly missed) by her sister Christine, her devoted husband Steven, and her sixteen-year-old grandson Rupert, who was the Light of her life.