Obituary of Mary E. Smith

Smith, Mary E. (nee Geyer) – peacefully at home on Apr. 15, 2015, age 90, of East Norwich, NY, formerly of Valley Stream, NY. Beloved mother of Rita S. Hirschfield (Robert), and Gregory S. Smith (Jean). Devoted sister of Rita M. Geyer, and the late William Geyer and George Geyer. Loving grandmother of Jeanne Kingsley (Harold), Christen Nyarady (Kevin), Michael Hirschfield (Christina), Kathryn Vesce (Ryan), Daniel Smith, and Alexander Smith. Cherished great grandmother of Cannon Kingsley, Austin Kingsley, William Hirschfield, Ava Vesce, Alexander Hirschfield, Maylin Vesce, Blakely and Andrew Nyarady, and Derek Nyarady. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Visiting Oyster Bay Funeral Home, 261 South St., Oyster Bay, NY Friday 3-5 & 7-9 p.m. Funeral Mass St. Dominic RC Chapel, Oyster Bay, NY Saturday 9:00 a.m. Interment St. Charles Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517 Topeka, Kansas, 66675 www.WoundedWarriorProject.org would be appreciated. For further information www.oysterbayfuneralhome.com Known as “Marie” throughout her life, our dear Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Sister has passed peacefully to Our Lord’s heavenly kingdom. We will miss her beautiful smile, her energy and enthusiasm and her pure joy upon seeing each and every one of us. She genuinely cared for us, loved us all deeply and prayed for us each and every day. Her prayers were answered during her 90 years of life with the love of her two children, six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren while sharing her life with her dear and loving sister Rita age 92. Marie was a talented lady who enjoyed, and was grateful for, the many gifts she received from the Lord through her years. As a young child, she learned and mastered the piano. First, by ear, and then when reading her music, she challenged herself to play even the most difficult concerto. We remember the sound of her playing through the house and her children enjoy an appreciation of the arts to this day. We thought as children how incredible it was that she was able to write her shorthand so perfectly when we would dictate a random page as she practiced for her civil service exams. She rose to the highest level and served as Executive Secretary in the Superintendent’s office of the Hewlett-Woodmere School District where she worked for 25 years. She loved to dance and tap was her true gift. Even in her 60’s and 70’s she would be practicing her routines for the Blessed Sacrament talent show benefits. Mom could launch into a two-step at a moments notice. Her dancing prowess was developed in large part while in her teens and twenties at the old Sunnyside roller rink with her partners. She and her partners were able to win many championships in a variety of dance styles. When we were growing up, she would take us to the Jones Beach public outdoor roller rink where she would amaze everyone with her skating. We were so very enamored and proud of her. When the music played, she would skate to the music, spinning and even jumping while on skates! Just amazing, she was really a talented athlete. Mom also had a love of the outdoors and enjoyed heading off to a favorite ranch outside the city for horseback riding weekends with friends. She always rode western style and was in complete control. All through the years, her positive outlook helped her to face any challenge in life. With the help of her beloved mother, she and her sister Rita were building a beautiful life together. She and Aunt Rita moved to East Norwich from Valley Stream 20 years ago. They enjoyed many years of membership in the Locust Valley Garden Club and the St. Dominic community. All of us were the beneficiaries of their desire to spend time with family. Perhaps, more than anything, our beloved mother will be remembered for the impact her boundless enthusiasm, unconditional love, spiritual conviction and sense of loyalty and devotion has had on each of us. She was in so many ways a woman to be admired for her steadfast faith in the Lord and her constant faith in each of our individual possibilities. Thank you Mom, Grandma Smith, GG, Marie, for the many gifts you continue to share with us now and forever. We all love you so very much. They say the secret to living is giving…that meaning does not come from what you get, it comes from what you give. That ultimately, what you receive will never make you happy long term, but who you become and what you contribute will. Our grandmother was a giver in the purest form. Whether it was time, love, laughter, smiles, her daily prayers, even basement storage… she was always ready and willing to help. Anyone who spent time with her would immediately grasp her genuine kindness and positive energy. One of my earlier memories of my grandmother that sticks in my mind comes from one of her tap talent shows I attended around 6 or 7 yrs old.To that point I knew Grandma Smith as my always smiling lovable grandma whose lipstick would stay on my cheeks all day. But I recall being thoroughly shocked to see her dancing around on stage with so much physical energy. She was well into her mid 60’s and I never knew she could move like that. It’s somewhat comparable to my son Will, age 4, or my nephew Austin one day all of a sudden seeing my mom tapping away on stage… mindboggling. After that moment, when I saw how athletic she was, our times together changed materially. We’d come up with games to play catch with tennis balls in our kitchen or play keep it up with balloons. She educated me on some sort of hopscotch game that involved throwing keys or random things into certain boxes and then skipping ahead to scoop them up on one leg. I recall afterwards trying to show and teach it to some neighborhood kids up the road… but for some reason it was never as fun without my grandmother. She loved us unconditionally and was always so proud of each of her grandkids. And after we created 9 great grandchildren over the past few years, she became ecstatic. She was always asking for more pictures for her electronic picture frame and telling us how she watches the slideshow daily. As Life, careers, our new families, and geography inevitably came in the way of seeing her as frequently as we used to, we all knew her love was rock solid and unwavering. I think my mom put it best when she wrote… Perhaps, more than anything, our beloved mother will be remembered for the impact her boundless enthusiasm, unconditional love, spiritual conviction and sense of loyalty and devotion has had on each of us. She was in so many ways a woman to be admired for her steadfast faith in the Lord and her constant faith in each of our individual possibilities. For us grandkids, she is a modelfor living selflessly. Her legacy will be inspiring and reminding us all to give more and that’s a legacy to be extremely proud of. Thank you, Grandma Smith, for that inspiration.