EILEEN ANKROM SMITH

Smith, Eileen Ankrom

December 5, 1917 - July 19, 2013

Eileen Ankrom Smith was born in Middletown, Missouri in 1917. She was the youngest of seven children. Eileen went to a one-room school as she grew up on what her father often called a "rock farm." To her it was paradise. She found wild flowers and baby birds in the spring and all the fruits and vegetables one could imagine in the family garden.

Eileen moved to Fullerton in 1935 to live with her two oldest sisters, who would soon own a very successful dress shop in downtown. Eileen graduated from Fullerton Union High School and continued onto Fullerton Junior College. She worked part time at the dress shop as a clerk and designed window displays. Her claim to fame was her job in 1940-1941 as a cashier at the Fox Fullerton theatre. There she met Raymond Smith, one of the theatre goers and a engineering teacher at FJC. They married in 1941. During World War II, Eileen worked in the payroll department at Douglas Aircraft while Ray designed wing structures for airplanes.

Crafts, sewing and short story writing kept her busy while her children, Diane, Richard and Sharon went to high school and college. In the 1960s she created a bright and bold line of paper mache jewelry sold at the dress shop. She taught craft workshops and sold her popular creations at the Fullerton YWCA fundraisers. These creatures included charming elves and gnomes in addition to yarn dolls and whimsical snow-skiing mice. At 95, Eileen passed peacefully. In addition to her children, she leaves two granddaughters, Sarah and Amy.

Visitation will be held Wednesday July 24, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the McAulay & Wallace Mortuary in Fullerton. Services are at McAulay's on Thursday July 25 at 10:30 a.m. McAulay & Wallace Mortuary