Gladys Fernandez Smithies

1914 - 2016

Gladys Fernandez Smithies passed away peacefully at the age of 101, at her home in Key Biscayne on Saturday, September 3rd, 2016, after receiving her last rites. She was born on November 29th, 1914, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. She was the daughter of Dolores Hechavarria Pezuela and Federico Fernandez Casas. As a child, she was homeschooled in Cuba, then graduated from The Masters' School in Dobbs Ferry, New York and attended La Sorbonne in Paris. She was fluent in five languages - English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian - and continued to practice her skills in all of them until the end. On December 28, 1936, she married John T Smithies, a graduate of Princeton University (class of '34) in Havana. They settled in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. After leaving Cuba, she moved to New York and began her career working at Hammacher Schlemmer, followed by several decades as a secretary at Bacardi in Miami, and at St Agnes. She retired from St Agnes at the age of 89. She will be forever remembered by many for her kindness, generosity, and devotion, along with her dignity, her culture, her curiosity, her humor, and her tremendous intellect. She leaves a great absence in the lives of her family and loved ones. She was pre-deceased by her husband John, her daughter Dolores, and her son Michael. She is survived by her son John Smithies (and Laura), her grandsons Andre Boissier, Sergei Boissier, Alexander Leviant, John Anthony Smithies, Charles Philip Smithies, and Stephen Smithies; her granddaughters Natasha Boissier and Cynthia Smithies; and her ten great grandchildren. A mass for her eternal repose will be officiated by Monsignor Hernando at St Agnes Church on Key Biscayne on Friday, September 9th at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St Agnes or Caritas. The family wishes to express their profound gratitude to Dr Gervasio Lamas, her hospice team, and her caretakers Dora, Lila, Guadalupe, and Dori Cameron for their love and exceptional devotion.