Mary A. Smith
A talented seamstress and dress designer.
Service times: Thursday, December 13, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.
Mary A. Smith, age 95, passed away peacefully at her daughter's home in Margate, Florida, on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. Mary was born October 17, 1923 in Potts Grove, PA, to Jacob L. and Mary Catherine (Weaver) Kremer. She grew up in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, with two sisters and two brothers. After graduating from Sunbury High School, Mary moved to Columbia where she worked for the United States Department of the Army for 15 years at the Marietta U.S. Army Depot. As a talented seamstress and dress designer, she then worked for a brief time designing dresses for a dress manufacturer. She also worked as a Kelly girl for the John Wright Foundry in Wrightsville and Hamilton Watch in Lancaster. She was married on November 22, 1947, to Marvin Sylvester "Poke" Smith of Columbia, and together they had one daughter, Jacquelyn Ann, born in 1952. In the early 1960s, Mary returned to work for the federal government at the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Social Security offices in Lancaster and later in York. After retiring in 1980, Mary traveled all over the United States (usually by train, her favorite mode of transportation), served on the Columbia Area Republican Committee, volunteered with Meals on Wheels and The Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, and spoiled all her family and friends with her delicious, homemade fudge. Mary was a faithful, long-time member of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbia. Mary lived in her home on S. 13th Street in Columbia with her husband for 48 years, and another 14 years following his death in 1995 until she moved to St. John's Herr Estate in 2009. In 2017, she moved to South Florida, to spend her remaining years with her loving daughter, Jacquelyn.
Mary is survived by her daughter, Jacquelyn (John) Moore; her loving grandchildren: Kristin (Bill) Quinn, Kimberly (Cliff) Dees, Katherine (Matt) Chess, Hannelore (Greg) Conde, and Johnny Moore; her great-grandchildren: Kaitlyn Quinn, Kaleb Quinn, Gregory Conde, Gavin Conde, Grayson Conde, Annaliese Chess, Gage Conde, Gunnar Conde, Adalyn Chess, Chloe Dees, and Grant Conde; her sister, Ruth (Kremer) Leader, and many loving nieces and nephews. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, brothers John and Joseph Kremer, sister Catherine Kremer, and grandson James Michael Moore.
The funeral service will be held at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 23 S. 6th Street, Columbia, PA 17512, on Thursday, December 13, 2018 (Viewing at 10 am; Service at 11 am). An interment service will follow at Laurel Hill Memorial Gardens, where Mary will be laid to rest next to her husband, Marvin. A luncheon will be held at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church immediately following the interment. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Mary's name to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Arrangements by the Clyde W. Kraft Funeral Home, Inc.
Send a Condolence
If you would like to send a condolence message to a family please fill out the form below and we will deliver it to them.