Olive Almira Ramsey Smith…to our family she was known simply as Mrs. Smith. She helped my Mom care for our house for many years. She was a constant in my childhood. After all these years, I wanted to honor her sweet soul. I’m writing this, especially for my kids, who never had the pleasure of meeting her.

With our large family of 7, Mom needed a hand keeping our house spic-and-span. Mrs. Smith helped my Mom with all the heavy housework and also did a lot of ironing. My Dad wore a shirt and tie to the office 5 days a week. That’s about 20 shirts a month that needed to be pressed.

She drove to our house in her bright blue VW bug with an orange flower on her antenna. She wore housecoat dresses, black loafers, and knee-high pantyhose. We giggled when we caught a glimpse of her sagging hoes when she was vacuuming or reaching for something. She was a petite woman, had short graying curled hair, and wore cat-eyed glasses. When I think about her, I still recall her voice. 

She worked very hard, but Mom also took good care of her financially and they formed a wonderful friendship. She always served her a hot lunch and packed up food for her which I know Mrs. Smith always appreciated. I recall them sitting and having coffee and a snack together at our kitchen table between cleaning projects and always chit-chatting. There were a couple of years when Mrs. Smith came to our house for Thanksgiving to celebrate with our family when she didn’t have anywhere else to go. 

What I remember most about Mrs. Smith is that she would listen to her transistor radio and carry it with her from room to room as she cleaned. My siblings reminded me she enjoyed listening to “Tradio” in which listeners would call into the show to trade and sell items. Also, to this day, the smell of a steam iron and spray starch takes me right back and I can picture her leaning over Mom’s ironing board working on making Dad’s shirts crisp.

Mrs. Smith was born on June 5, 1908. By the time she came to our family, her husband had died in a car accident and she was left raising her two children, Arlene and Harold. Years later Mom told us that her husband, Harold, was in fact, in the fatal accident with his mistress. So sad. Over the years she talked a lot about Arlene’s daughters, Teri and Susie, whom she adored. I was young so I didn’t know much about the rest of her family until Google became available. 

Honestly, I don’t recall when and why Mrs. Smith stopped coming to our house. It breaks my heart that I never paid attention. I was too busy being a teenager and then a college student. The years went by and occasionally I would ask Mom questions about her but was too busy to pursue her whereabouts. 

Now, the memories of her come flooding back. Through some simple research, I found out she died on November 27, 1993, at the age of 85. Her daughter, Arlene, died on November 23, 1993, 5 days before her. I wonder if she knew of her death or was sick and didn’t know. I hope she didn’t and that Arlene was the first one to greet her when she passed. 

At the time of her death, Mrs. Smith had 1 son, 4 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. Her son died in 2001. However, there are a couple of mysteries. In her daughter Arlene and son Harold’s obituaries, a sister Donna is listed as a survivor. Also, in her son’s obituary, it said he left another sister, Shirley. Hmm…who are Donna and Shirley? I haven’t found the answers yet.

Mrs. Smith was a woman who had some rough things handed to her in life but was kind, gracious, and a survivor. She was a stable physical presence throughout my whole childhood. I think about her often and when I close my eyes I can picture her like it was yesterday. Please know, Mrs. Smith, that all of us loved you at 161 Dartmouth Ave. I hope you and Mom are still enjoying your coffee and conversation. 

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of Mrs. Smith. Her final resting place is all I have.

I find it ironic that there is a cardinal on her gravestone, the mascot for the city of Canfield. RIP