Janet S. Smith

1913 - 2015

Janet S. Smith, 102, of Bloomfield, formerly of Hartford and Manchester, died on February 27, 2015. The daughter of Scott H. Simon and Josephine Reebel Simon, she was born February 5, 1913 in Manchester, where her father was CEO and owner of the Carlyle-Johnson Machine Company. While summering at her family's Groton Long Point cottage, she took up tennis and played actively until age 87. She attended Abbot Academy (now Phillips Andover), Class of 1931, and graduated from Vassar College, Class of 1935. Encouraged by Professor Agnes Rindge, her Vassar mentor, Mrs. Smith joined Chick Austin's Wadsworth Atheneum staff, serving as assistant to Elva McCormick, doyenne of the Avery door. She later served at Wesleyan as research assistant to architectural historian, Henry-Russell Hitchcock. On August 28, 1936, she married Robert H. Smith (1912-2006), also a Manchester native and an alumnus of Harvard College, Class of 1933. Her Atheneum association continued for decades, including the Women's Committee, the Auerbach Library Associates and the Costume & Textile Society. In 1983, taking a somewhat unorthodox step for its day, Mr. and Mrs. Smith moved from Manchester to Hartford, residing on Main Street across from the Atheneum. In 2000, they moved to Bloomfield, joining friends in the Duncaster community. Mr. and Mrs. Smith wintered for many years at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and later at Boca Grande, FL. Mrs. Smith was or had been a member of the Junior League, the Harford Art School House Tour Committee, the Town and County Club, the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club, and the Bloomfield Tennis Club. And she was the star purveyor of pecans for the Vassar Club of Hartford. Mrs. Smith is survived by her children, Holiday S. Houck, of Boston, MA and Eastham, MA, Robert H. Smith, Jr., of Hartford and Edgartown, MA, Professor Kimberly G. Smith, of Fayetteville, AR, Wendelin J. Smith, of Wellesley, MA, and Bradford S. Smith, of Pasadena, MD, seven grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren, and by her aide and dear friend, Susan Culshaw. No calling hours. A family graveside service at East Cemetery, Manchester, is planned. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103-2990