Pamela Dormody Smith

1928 - 2016

Pamela Dormody Smith
June 21, 1928 - October 21, 2016
Carmel
Pamela Dormody Smith was born to Dr. Horace and Anita Dormody of Carmel on the Summer Solstice in 1928. She died at the Carmel Valley Manor on October 21, 2016, surrounded by her family. The two photos above show Pam as a lovely, intelligent, curious young woman in her senior year of high school, and Pam three years ago, at the age of 85, burning up the dance floor at her grandson's wedding. In the decades between the dates those photos were taken, Pam lived a full, happy life, surrounded by people who loved and appreciated her.
Pam grew up in her family's wonderful, rambling house at the corner of Dolores Street and Twelfth Avenue in Carmel. She loved life in small town Carmel, attending Sunset School and despairing over the antics of her mischievous younger brothers Pat and Mike Dormody. In 1930, Pam's father Dr. Horace Dormody and his brother Dr. Hugh Dormody built Monterey Hospital on Hartnell Street in Monterey, now part of Community Hospital, and even as a child Pam regularly announced that she intended to marry a doctor.
After graduating from Carmel High School in 1946, Pam left for Vassar College, where she made friends she would keep her entire life. Because he was a family friend (Dr. Horace Dormody was a character in Sweet Thursday), John Steinbeck took Pam and her mother to the famous Rainbow Room on Pam's eighteenth birthday and bought Pam her first legal drink. Pam was thrilled by New York City, and after her graduation from Vassar she took a job at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City. She always said that her most challenging assignment there was to try to keep the directors sober at the grand annual Christmas party.
After a few years in New York, Pam found that she missed California, and she decided to return. But first, an adventure. All on her own, Pam traveled around the world, returning with vivid memories, boxes of photographs, and a love of travel which she continued to indulge all of her life. Back in California, Pam took a job at Stanford Medical School. She regularly returned to Carmel to visit her family and friends, and in 1964 she moved back to Carmel permanently when she married Dr. Clyn Smith, a widower with three children, Bud, Sharon, and Brian. She threw herself with great determination into the daunting task of raising two teenagers and a squirrely 9 year old boy, and in 1965 her daughter Mollie was born, completing the lively family.
All her life, Pam had an eye for good design. She created a lovely home which she filled with striking things she had collected in her travels, and she was a gifted flower arranger, winning many awards for her unusual arrangements and becoming a judge for flower arranging competitions through the Garden Club of America. She loved color and style, music, opera, and every beautiful thing. She was involved in the community, serving on the Carmel School Board and as a member of the board of trustees of the Carmel Bach Festival. She was a loyal and involved member of the Carmel Garden Club and of the Casa Abrego Club, where she served a term as its president. And she was a kind, true friend, who delighted in spending time with her dear friends through times good and bad and was always ready with a sympathetic ear or a celebratory glass of sauvignon blanc, as the occasion demanded.
Pam is survived by her daughter Mollie Nelson (Steve Nelson) and grandsons William and Jacob Nelson; by her stepson Bud Smith (Chris Campbell) and grandson Morgan Smith and granddaughter Caitlin Smith; by her stepdaughter Sharon Smith (David Moon) and grandsons Kevin, Chris, and Kelly Moon; and by eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her stepson Brian Smith, her husband Clyn Smith, and her brothers Patrick and Michael Dormody. Pam leaves behind a loving family who will always remember her style, her radiant smile, her social graces, and her warm heart. The entire family is particularly grateful for the loving, tender care provided by Paula Salinas during the last year of Pam's life. Memorial contributions may be made to the Carmel-by-the-Sea Garden Club, P.O. Box 1972, Carmel, CA 93921, or the Carmel Bach Festival, P.O. Box 575, Carmel, CA 93921, and there will be a celebration of Pam's life at the Casa Abrego in Monterey on November 19, 2016, from 5 to 7 p.m.


View the online memorial for Pamela Dormody Smith