Lowry Smith Puckey

Lowry Smith (Maurer) Puckey, of Nuangola, Pa., died Jan. 16, 2025, at Allied Services Meade Street Skilled Nursing facility, surrounded by family.

Lowry was born in Windber, Pa., on Sept. 27, 1930, the only daughter of the late Charles P. and Lavinia L. (Pengelly) Maurer. Two brothers, Charles and Thomas Maurer, predeceased her.

Lowry attended Hazleton High School, where she was active in swimming, theater and many clubs; in 1948, she was voted "Miss High School" by her class. She graduated as a registered nurse from Philadelphia's Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in 1951. She also took courses at Penn State, and worked as a private-duty and hospice nurse, as well as a nursing supervisor. She worked at the Presbyterian Home in Hollidaysburg, Pa.; the Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Cresson, Pa.; and the Veterans Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Lowry had a strong Christian faith. She read her Bible each morning and did not hesitate to offer to pray with those God put in her path. For many years, she was involved in ASK Network, an international intercessory prayer group. She was a member of the Evangelical Free Church, Dallas; the Baptist Church of Nanticoke; and most recently, she belonged to the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Mountain Top.

Lowry was a trained, accomplished, and prolific painter. She especially enjoyed painting watercolors en plein air (outdoor on location) when traveling, and when at Lake Nuangola. Her artwork graces the homes of people across the country who bought her pieces or were lucky enough to be gifted one. Lowry also produced many commissioned works of people's homes, their dogs, and treasured places they entrusted her to capture with her left-handed paint strokes.

Lowry grew up visiting Lake Nuangola and made many fond memories at the lake with family members and dear friends. It was at the lake that Lowry met her first husband, Howard Clifton Smith, whom she married in 1951. After Cliff's death in 1974, Lowry also met Charles S. Puckey at the lake, and married him in 1976; in 2005, the Puckeys made Lake Nuangola their permanent home.

Charming and personable, Lowry made friends wherever she went and was quite the social butterfly. Her phone rang often, and she kept constantly busy sending cards and letters, and later on, emails and text messages (with emojis!) to a wide and ever-growing network of loved ones. Parties at her house on the lake were popular happenings, as myriad guys and gals were drawn to Lowry's compassionate heart and warm spirit. She always made a point of gathering everyone for a pre-meal prayer of thanksgiving that also included a word of gratitude for everyone there. Lowry would look around the room and take it all in with a loving smile and joy shining in her eyes.

Lowry was a good sport who endured life's trials with a sense of humor. She was also quick to remind us that "This, too, shall pass." In preparing for her own passing, she wrote cheerfully that she would be "at home with my Lord!"

Surviving Lowry is her daughter, Lynda Mull (Anthony); sons: Howard C. Smith (Donna), Charles G. Smith (Lynne), Richard L. Smith (Cheryl), Charles Puckey Jr. (Szlvia) and George Witsil (Nancy); 11 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and countless friends and other relatives she took a sincere interest in, got to know, prayed for and loved.

A celebration of life will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, in Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, 3577 Church Road, Mountain Top, Pa.

Arrangements are in the care of Dinelli Family Funeral Home, 170 E. Broad St., Nanticoke.

The service will be livestreamed on the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Mountain Top site. (Go in through Facebook and click on "live video.")

Memorial contributions may be made to Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church.

To leave Lowry's family a condolence or expression of sympathy, please visit www.dinellifuneralhome.com.