Lorraine Lea Smith

July 27, 1934 - March 5, 2022

Lorraine Lea Smith passed peacefully yet stubbornly of natural causes on March 5, 2022 in Hartford Hospital where she was born in 1934. Her daughter, Susan Ann Smith Jansson, was nearby though asleep when Lorraine passed which is exactly as Lorraine would have liked as she never was one to inconvenience her adult children when visiting. She most likely departed precisely at midnight to get an early start on the day as she and her husband Neil Cristy Smith did when traveling. Lorraine and Neil traveled the United States, Canada and Mexico avidly by car throughout their years together. They enjoyed taking the back roads to discover the hidden beauty of the terrain and to avoid any and all toll roads. Lorraine was an intrepid co-pilot, map reader, kept a daily log of their journeys and was expert at navigating the many excursions they took. When at home in Connecticut, Nova Scotia, Florida, Illinois and again in Connecticut, Lorraine was always planning, planting, growing and perpetually weeding her gardens. While living in Rocky Hill and raising a family Lorraine was at the forefront of sustainable living, growing and preserving the vegetables and fruits of the garden, baking the best bread and most sought after rolls at family gatherings. She kept her family clothed and mended with her sewing skills and was a talented painter of landscape and family moments. Lorraine kept a daily diary for well over sixty years and extensively researched and recorded family history from both her own family and her husband’s family. She was passionate about tracing both family’s origins. Lorraine instilled a love of self-sufficiency in her children Richard Scott Smith and Susan Ann Smith Jansson and a determined work ethic to get the job done. She shared her skills in the garden and in the home with both children and though they may not have appreciated those lessons at the time, she did a fine job raising them both. Lorraine is preceded in death and leaves behind friends and family who counted her as a true and honest friend throughout the decades of her life. She is preceded in death by her husband Neil Cristy Smith, her brothers Terry Smith and John Smith and her sister Darlene Smith Druin. She leaves behind her sister Kay Smith Snow and brother Kenneth Smith as well as her children Richard Scott Smith, his wife Renee St Pierre Smith and Susan Ann Smith Jansson and her husband Paul Jansson. She was blessed with two grandchildren Spencer Oliver Smith and Anneka Kristine Jansson whom she was able to spend years with each having lived first in Illinois with Anneka and in Connecticut with Spencer. Both will miss her dearly. A celebration of Lorraine’s life will be held on May 7, 2022 at Dave and Marilyn Meigs home in Berlin, CT. We invite all to join us. Please contact Richard or Susan for details. Lorraine Lea Smith planted her final vegetable garden in her eighty seventh spring. The family encourages all to celebrate her life by planting something beautiful. Among her favorites were geraniums, marigolds, violets and lilac.