Mildred Reed Smith

January 19, 1917 - September 23, 2016

Mildred Reed Smith was born on January 19, 1917 in Tallmansville, WV, and died September 23, 2016 in Phoenix, AZ. Milly started school at age 6 in the 4th grade because her older sisters taught her their lessons at home before she ever started school. She graduated high school at age 15 and college at West Virginia Wesleyan at age 19 in 1936. She taught English at the high school in Buckhannon, WV, and obtained a master’s degree in English Literature at Northwestern University in 1942. She married Ray M. Smith of Chicago and accompanied him to various U.S. Army bases where he was a flight instructor, until he went overseas for combat. They settled in Chicago after he returned in 1945, and in 1955 moved to Elmhurst, where she lived until 2012. She obtained a second master’s degree, in library science, after Ray was disabled in the 1960s, and was the librarian at Churchville Junior High School near Elmhurst, IL, until she retired in 1982. She was active in the League of Women Voters, the Chicago Genealogical Society and the Elmhurst Genealogy Forum. She enjoyed playing bridge with friends, and traveling with Elderhostel tours and with her sisters. She volunteered at the Elmhurst History Museum for 30 years before moving to Phoenix, AZ to live with her daughter. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray M. Smith, her sisters, Violet Reed Brandon, Emma Grace Reed, Oleta (Cy) Reed Post, and brothers, D. Cecil Reed, Darrel Reed, and Donald Reed. She is survived by her daughter, Philinda Smith Hutchings (David Henslee), and two sons, William Mitchell Smith and David Reed Smith (Julia), and two grandchildren, Matthew Reed Smith and Sarah Smith Cline (Dan). A Memorial Service will be held at the Reed Chapel United Methodist Church, located on the Lee Glass Road, off the Tallmansville Road, in Tallmansville, WV, on Saturday, November 5, at 11:00 AM. Graveside services will follow in the Reed Chapel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Emery K. and Lula E. Tenney Reed Family Scholarship, West Virginia Wesleyan College, 59 College Ave., Buckhannon, West Virginia, 26201.