Catherine Mary Smith
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Our Mother, Catherine Mary Smith, received her Angel Wings Friday, January 7, 2022 after a long battle with cancer. Born September 1, 1939 to Charles J. and Catherine E. Heimlich, both of whom preceded her in death. She married Robert M. Smith and they gave birth to two children, Michelle (Galen) Greenly of Lancaster Pennsylvania and Stephen (Kelly) Smith of Rochester Illinois. She and Robert were divorced in 1979. He also preceded her in death. She is also survived by her companion Paul Carlson, her Grandchildren, Kristina (Chris) Gray, Kyle Stevenson, Katie (Joe) Palmer, Ashley (Connor) Searle, Sean Smith, Step Grandchildren, Yvonne (Greg)Bachman, Dale Greenly, Brandon Reim, Brady (Christina) Reim, Great Grandchildren, Joey, Josiah, Caleb and Kennedy, and Step Great Grandchildren, Jackie, Jessica, Jennifer, Adam, Kelsey, Julia, Peighton and Colton.
Many of you will remember mom from her jobs at Danville High School. She began her career there working for Paul C. Shebby, then Football Coach and Athletic Director for the high school. He and his wife "Bugears" became lifelong friends with Cathy. Next she moved into the library where eventually she was in charge of the Audio-Visual equipment. She had a great time at the high school, always bringing home stories about what happened that day, usually involving some type of joke, prank or something crazy someone did. It was quite the source of entertainment.
Once retired her favorite things to do were travel, making cards and working in her gardens, mostly her favorite, the fern garden. But then, Mom always loved to travel too. I remember as kids every summer my sister and I would pile in the back seat, (even in her tiny Ford Pinto, whew, somebody get us out of here!), while Dad would drive and Mom would navigate us somewhere to get away and have some fun! It wasn't until retirement that she really got to get out there though. Her first trip was to Ecuador with her companion, Paul Carlson, (whom she met at the high school), she's been on a cruise on the Amazon River, hiked through rainforests, and went on a night walk to see an active volcano flow, who IS this woman! She's also traveled to Costa Rico, England, Paris, Spain, and I'm sure some places I've missed, always making memories and friends along the way.
Any of you that knew her knew Mom had a great sense of humor and loved to play jokes on people. She called it her devilish side and you knew when it was coming because you could see it in her eyes, there was no hiding it! For instance for her 80th birthday party she removed the "0", from "80", off the cake and giggled, "Haha now I'm only 8", and in that single moment, it was like she was. I can't even begin to recall all the funny things that took place throughout our lives, some carefully planned out and others completely out of nowhere!
We will miss her, our mother, grandmother, great grandmother, I know I have since the moment she passed. There's just never enough time . . . I never realized, even when I knew she was leaving, I never realized what a steadfast anchor of love and support she was in my life. At this time I would ask you this, while there IS time, make it. Make the time for your family, spend some good old fashioned quality time with each other, with those important to you. Make sure they know how much you care, how much you love them, and how much they mean to you.
I would invite, even encourage you to come to this site and post pictures and stories you may want to share, this is a great time to remember Cathy, our mom, your friend, and she would absolutely love it if we celebrated her life this way! We Love You Mom . . .
Private Services for the family will be held at a later date.
McCorkle Funeral Home - Durand Chapel assisted the family.