Martha M. Smith

Martha Joe (Moore) Smith, 88, of Evanston, IL, passed away peacefully on August 28, 2025. She was born on March 3, 1937, in Tanner, AL. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Connie and Martha Ida (McAlpin) Moore, and her younger sister, Mary Frances Moore Whatley.

She is survived by her husband of 62 Years, Newland F. Smith; two children, Arthur Smith (Donna) and Jenifer Holman (Eric); four grandchildren, Jessica Smith, Ryan Holman, Emma Holman, and Tyler Smith; and her siblings, Joseph Moore (Patsy), and Linda Graham (Jim).

As a young child, she lived in Haiti for nearly a year during World War II. Her father was there as part of an Auburn University research project to cultivate rubber to aid the war effort.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1958 with a B.S. in ornamental horticulture, she spent a year working in a flower shop in Birmingham before heading north to attend The University of Chicago Graduate Library School (GLS). She married fellow GLS student Newland Smith in 1962. She used her metadata skills as a volunteer for two Tell el-Hesi summer excavations in Israel in 1973 and 1975, serving as the pottery registrar in 1975. She later worked for 23 years in the preservation & acquisitions departments at Northwestern University's Main Library, retiring in 2006.

Martha was a devoted and beloved wife, mother, and grandmother. She had a beautiful voice and sang in the choir at St. David's Episcopal Church in Glenview, IL, for many years. With a natural talent for cooking, she loved preparing meals for family and friends. Martha also enjoyed gardening, playing bridge, and was passionate about needlecrafts.

A funeral service will be held at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 2410 Glenview Rd. (at Shermer Rd.), Glenview. IL, on Friday, October 3, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. interment will follow immediately after the funeral in St David's Memorial Churchyard. The family will receive friends following the service in the undercroft of St. David’s Episcopal Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Auburn University's College of Agriculture (https://give.auburn.edu/pages/au-college-of-agriculture) or St. George's College, Jerusalem (https://www.saintgeorgescollegejerusalem.com/giving/).