News
Mary R. Smith, 80
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Mary Ellen Rogers Smith died at her home in Red Hook, NY in the predawn hours of March 23, 2021. In the waning days of her long struggle with several chronic conditions, Mary was surrounded by her beloved family and friends, who came from far and wide to bid her farewell.
Mary Ellen Rogers was born on June 3, 1940 in Bremerton, WA and raised on the Kitsap Peninsula overlooking Puget Sound. Always a shining student, it was no surprise that Mary made her career in education. After her undergraduate training at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), Mary learned her trade as a secondary level English teacher in classrooms around the globe. After graduating from PLU, Mary and her new husband, David A. Smith (Married June 9, 1962) joined the second group of United States Peace Corps volunteers in 1963 and was dispatched to teach young women in a newly independent Nigeria at Queens’ School in the town of Enugu.
Upon returning from the Peace Corps, Mary devoted her career to public education in Connecticut, where she made a home with her husband, and two daughters, Annie and Sarah Smith.