BOONE, Iowa—Mary M. Smith, of the Westhaven Community in Boone, Iowa, went home to be with her husband and son on Saturday, January 14, 2023, after living a humble and memory-filled life of 103 years.
Mary was born to Anton and Esther (Reichart) Uthe on March 16, 1919, on a farm near Gilbert, Iowa. She was educated through 8th grade in Lafayette Country School #4 near her home. In 1936, she graduated with honors from Story City High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society. Following one year of college at St. Theresa’s College for Women in Winona, Minnesota, she taught in rural schools in Hamilton and Boone Counties. She continued to hear from former students and always enjoyed sharing memories of their time spent together in school.
On November 28, 1944, she married W. Albert Smith in Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in rural Ames. Mary was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She and her husband raised their four children on their farm in Boone County. She was a 78-year member of Sacred Heart Church and its Altar Society. She was an avid reader with a curious mind that never stopped seeking information about the world around her. She was very interested in her family ancestry and had a remarkable ability to remember relevant dates of all her relatives, their spouses and children. She enjoyed sewing, crossword puzzles and various word games. She particularly enjoyed a 30-year pen pal relationship with a woman from England. She and Albert retired to Boone in 1983, and she entered the Westhaven Community three months after her 100th birthday in 2019.
She is survived by her daughters, Mary (Mike) Walsh, Sioux City, IA, Donna (Tom) Johnson, Boone, IA and Janet (Wayne) Wuebker, Afton, IA; ten grandchildren, Bill, Steve, and Brian Walsh, Jill Johnson, Michelle Elliott, and Julie Fournier, Mary Jo Wuebker, Shelly Toppin, Randy Wuebker, and Alex Wuebker; and seventeen great-grandchildren; her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Uthe, Elma, IA; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 ½ years, Albert; their son, Roger; and granddaughter, Laura Wuebker; her parents; four brothers, Joseph, Daniel, Lawrence and Clarence; and three sisters, Margaret Colantino, Helen Mullenbach, and Sister Mary Anton Uthe.
Mary’s family is appreciative of the compassionate care she received from the staff at Westhaven Community and Suncrest Hospice.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Boone. Visitation will be held from 9:30 A.M. until mass. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery.
Memorials in Mary’s memory can be made to The Sacred Heart School Endowment Foundation as a tribute to her work in the education of children.
Online condolences may be left at www.schroedermemorialchapel.com.
Schroeder-Reimers Memorial Chapel at Sixth and Marshall Streets is in charge of arrangements.
