Jennifer Marino
To start off their season this year, the South Shore Symphony dedicated its Nov. 1 concert to Martha Smith, its co-chairwoman from 1991 to 2003. Like a symphony, Mrs. Smith was a woman with many layers that combined to make a memorable life.
She was a village trustee, a Herald columnist, a member of the Fortnightly Club and a businesswoman to name just a few of her accomplishments. Mrs. Smith, 86, died on Dec. 12 at Mercy Medical Center of natural causes. She is remembered as a cherished member of the Rockville Centre community since 1928.
She was born in New York City and graduated from Hofstra University in 1941 with a bachelor's in liberal arts. At Hofstra she met her husband, Robert F. Smith, a Marine Corps major who fought in the initial invasion of Guadalcanal during World War II. They had five children together. He died in 1978.
In 1981, then Mayor Leonard Sandel appointed Mrs. Smith as village trustee to replace Salvatore Milano, who died suddenly. She served only a one-year term but was very active during her tenure. She helped start the Friends of Senior Services Inc. (FOSSI) then and remained active on its board until recently.
Also during her term, she was one of the founders of the Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts. From 1989 to 1991 she was president of the guild and co-chaired both the South Shore Symphony Committee and the public relations committee. She really believed that the arts were important to the community, said Marion Miller, who served on the guild with Mrs. Smith for 20 years.
Though not a musician herself, Mrs. Smith's enthusiasm was praised by Scott Jackson Wiley, the symphony director. Her enthusiastic hugs after concerts have always meant for the musicians of the South Shore Symphony and me that we have met her expectations, said Wiley in the September Guild for the Arts newsletter.
In addition to her degree from Hofstra, Mrs. Smith also attended Columbia University, working toward a degree in educational administration and was the first graduate of Columbia's nursing-home administration program.
Professionally, she was the owner and administrator of the Park Villa Nursing Home in Rockville Centre from 1950 to 1976 and served as board member, vice-president and president of the Nassau County Health Facilities Association.
Being so involved had its perks; it helped Mrs. Smith co-write the Rockville Centre Observed column in the Rockville Centre Herald under the pen name Snoop Sisters. For a year and a half she worked with her good friend Katherine Grande Campbell, keeping the community up to date on the movers and shakers of the village. She carried the column on by herself after Grande Campbell stopped.
Martha Smith was a delightful, high-spirited woman who brought intelligence and humor to her Herald column 'Rockville Centre Observed' under the pen name of the Snoop Sisters from April 1993 to March 1998, said Jeff Kluewer, former editor of the Rockville Centre Herald.
Her tone was light and friendly, he continued. She told stories about people in town, remembered village history, and commented on fashion, books, music, art, cultural events, and local news items. She championed cats, children and child care.
In just two months' time the column was denounced as inflammatory and biased by one of the town's political leaders who felt his inflammation might be eased by knowing the identity of the Snoop Sisters. Citing the example of Addison and Steele in The Tatler and The Spectator, the Herald continued to run the column without ever naming Martha Smith as the primary and then the sole writer.
Herald Publisher Cliff Richner also remembered Mrs. Smith's spirit and how she welcomed the paper to the community. She was part of the establishment, he said, but she always had a twinkle in her eyes.
Mrs. Smith liked to remind readers about the undervalued contributions of women to society and undertook crusades, most notably badgering the local U.S. Post Office until it finally installed a wheelchair ramp to its front entrance.
She also managed to ruffle some official feathers by criticizing the village's parking ticket policy for discouraging shoppers and the village administration for doing too little to quell the crowds of teenagers that once took over some streets and neighborhoods on summer nights.
She never quite conquered the computer and delivered her columns written in a strong, firm hand, double-spaced on blue-lined school paper.
She was a life force, said Grande Campbell of her lifelong friend. Just walking across the street with her was fun.
The two were in the Fortnightly Club together, where Mrs. Smith would wear her fox furs and hat. She was president of the club from 1985 to 1987 and a member since 1981. Many of the members, including Grande Campbell and Dorothea Von Brook, missed seeing her at the club's 105th birthday celebration in November. We cherished Martha, said Grande Campbell of the Fortnightly ladies.
Mrs. Smith's honors and involvement also include the 1997 Molloy College Caritas Medal for outstanding community service, the 1981 Citizen of the Year from the RVC Chapter of the American Cancer Society, 1987 New York State citation, the RVC Center Community Woman of Distinction Award (1994), a Certificate of Recognition from the National Children's Cancer Society (2000), executive board member of the South Side Civic Association from 1979 to 1981, co-chair of the Rockville Centre Human Rights Committee since 1981, chair of the Senior Citizen Housing Sub-committee and member of the Mayor's Senior Citizen Advisory Board.
Mayor Eugene Murray, in 1997 and 2003, issued proclamations establishing Martha Smith Day. In his most recent proclamation he stated that Smith was a woman for all seasons.
She was an extraordinary woman, said former mayor Leonard Sandel.
Mrs. Smith is survived by her daughter, Mary Lou Portney, and her sons Robert C., Harold E., Jeffrey A., Donald B. and their spouses, as well as 20 grandchildren and their spouses and eight great-grandchildren. On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Monsignor James Kelly celebrated a Funeral Mass at St. Agnes Cathedral, followed by burial at Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury. Donations may be made on behalf of Martha Smith to the South Shore Symphony of Rockville Centre, PO Box 950, Rockville Centre, NY 11571.
