Betty Smith

1929 - 2020

Betty Mood Smith, 90, passed away on March 25th, 2020 at St. Joseph's Home of Springfield after a brief bout of aspirational pneumonia.
She was born and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, graduating in 1950 from the University of South Carolina, where she majored in biology and tied for first in her class with her identical twin sister, Ann Crockett, now of Summerville, South Carolina.
Betty Mood married Henry Dale Smith, of Spartanburg, South Carolina in a double wedding with her twin Ann soon after graduation. Both grooms were Citadel cadets. Betty and Henry Dale went on to have four sons, Henry Dale Smith, Jr. (wife, Deborah Klang), Rogers Mood Smith (wife, Mary Summers), James Christopher Smith (wife, Debra Nickelson Smith), and D. Andrew Smith (partner, Caren Appel).
The family moved to Springfield in 1954, when Henry Dale Smith, Sr., founded the H. D. Smith Wholesale Drug Company, initially with Betty as its only other employee. Three sons, Dale, Christopher, and Andrew, went on to pursue careers in the H.D. Smith Company, which, while remaining based in Springfield, became a national leader in its industry prior to its sale in 2018. Rogers is a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania.
Though Betty Smith was always proud of her boys, she missed having a daughter, and she was delighted when her first six grandchildren were girls, followed by two more boys. In addition to being an extraordinary mother and grandmother, Betty was a civic leader in many capacities. She was a devoted member of Westminster Presbyterian Church throughout her adult life, serving the congregation in numerous roles. She was a member and at different times served as president of the Springfield Junior League and the Sunnyside Circle, and she was also active in King's Daughters and the Philanthropic Educational Organization, among other civic and educational groups. An ardent and accomplished gardener, she was honored by her loving husband with gifts that created the Betty Mood Smith Rockery and the Betty Mood Smith Groundcover Labyrinth in Washington Park. Joining her husband and sons, she also became an enthusiastic sports fan, particularly of the Fighting Illini teams. After the passing of Henry Dale Smith, Sr., his estate contributed to the creation of the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center on the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus.
In addition to her sons, Betty Smith is survived by her eight grandchildren, Virginia Sole-Smith (husband, Dan Upham), Chandler Klang Smith (partner, Eric Taxier), Elizabeth Smith, Caroline Summers Smith (fiance', Jessy Yang), Lacy Smith, Callandria Nickelson Smith, Rogers Reed Summers Smith, and Spencer Nickelson Smith; and great-granddaughters, Violet Marian Upham-Smith and Beatrix Kathryn Upham-Smith.
A Memorial Ceremony will be held in her honor at a later date.
Please visit boardmansmith.com to offer your condolences.