Mrs. Joan Sandra Smith

Joan Sandra (Speedie) Smith, 77, passed gently into the hands of God on February 12, 2013 at Methodist Hospital. Joan was born on January 9, 1936 in Newton, Massachusetts, the eldest daughter of Gordon Alexander Speedie of Kenilworth, Illinois and Martha Louise (Berry) of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. She was raised in New Jersey, Washington D.C. and Arlington, Massachusetts where she graduated from high school in 1953. She attended two years at Lowell State Teachers College, Lowell, Massachusetts. She met Donald Archie Smith of Dayton, Ohio, a junior at Harvard College, on a blind date to the Harvard-Dartmouth football game in 1954. They were married in Nashua, New Hampshire on May 18, 1955 and enjoyed almost 58 years of loving marriage. Joan was preceded in death by her parents and a granddaughter, Krystal Delaney. She is survived by her husband, Donald, her sister, Constance Elizabeth Swensen and her husband, Rev Oscar Swensen, of Lyman, Maine, her sister Sue Ellen Carrington of Lyman, Maine, three sons, Douglas Alan and his wife, Eveline (Weide); of St Joseph, Illinois, Keith Cameron and his wife, Lisa (McIntosh), of Westfield, Indiana; Neal Ramsey of Vandalia, Ohio; and a daughter, Dee Delaney and her husband, Stuart Delaney, of Grove City, Ohio; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Joan and Don also helped raise two other loving children, Tedd McCauley of Joliet, Illinois and Carolyn Staudt of Concord, Massachusetts. Joan loved her family and friends and had a zest for life. A lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, she served in many ministry projects in Ohio and Indiana. She coordinated programs to support Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She made a mission trip to Sierra Leone to help with refurbishing the Bo Centennial School and was coordinator for the Marion District for Operation Classroom. She was Director of the Marion Easter Pageant. She was a Den Mother for Cub Scouts. She was a trained Tax Aide for the AARP Tax Assistance to the Elderly. She loved community theater, assisting backstage with many productions in Columbus, Ohio. Her favorite experience was directing "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" in Columbus and Marion, Indiana. For many years she was the administrative assistant for the service department of Rish Equipment Company in Columbus, Ohio. When she was 35 she began driving her Triumph Spitfire in autocross competition. She then took up road racing, received her racing license and raced H and G production and won trophies at Road America, Road Ohio and other tracks in the Midwest and New England. She and Don entertained foreign visitors in their home making friends throughout the world. She enjoyed traveling with Don on business trips to Europe and fun trips to see the friends we made overseas and to interesting places in the United States. An avid bridge and euchre player she was close to becoming a life master and made many friends along the way. We will miss the twinkle and winks of her beautiful blue eyes and the radiant smile that cheered the hearts of everyone who met her. Visitation will be at Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Service & Crematory, Greenwood Chapel, 481 West Main Street, Greenwood on Friday, February 22, from 4-8 P.M. The funeral service will be on Saturday, February 23 at Franklin United Methodist Community, Wright Memorial Chapel, 1070 West Jefferson St. at 10:30 A.M. with a visitation there from 9:00 AM until service time. Interment will be private. The Reverend In Suk Peebles and Reverend John Elliot will officiate. Memorial contributions are suggested to Operation Classroom, P.O. Box 246, Colfax IN 46035.