Obituary: Dorothy G. Smith, Lifelong Madison Resident, Dies at 90

From Maryanne Grove: 

Dorothy Smith, cherished wife of Walter J. Smith, died peacefully at the Connecticut Hospice on Saturday, January 18 – four days before her 70th wedding anniversary.

Dorothy was born on April 8, 1923, the daughter of Herbert and Louise (Froehlich) Grove.  She graduated from Hand High School in 1941.  Devoted to family and friends, she was also one of the town’s first female ambulance drivers, a letter carrier for the local post office, a bookkeeper at The Dolly Madison Inn, and a part-time sales person and resident expert in fabric and cheese for The Yardstick and The Madison Cheese Shop respectively.

She was both a Girl Scout and troop leader, a regular at senior citizen’s bocce and a member of the First Congregational Church.  In 1998, she chaired the first reunion ever held for graduates of Madison’s Hand Consolidated School, which from 1922 to 1960 offered instruction for grades K-12 in the building known today as the Academy Elementary School.  Over 300 former students from the classes of 1928-1959 attended.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by a daughter Kerstine Scritchfield of Chambersburg, PA, grandson Tyler Harold and his wife Jennifer of Oxford, PA, and two great-grandsons, Aidan and Evan.  She is also survived by a brother, Raymond Grove of Englewood, FL, and six nieces and nephews:  Barry Grove, Maryanne Grove, Robert Grove, Deborah Johnson, Pamela Stacy, and Carol Whiteman.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to The Connecticut Hospice (100 Double Beach Road, Branford, CT 06405 or www.hospice.com)