Ethel Irene Smith

Ethel Irene Smith of Chariton, Iowa, died on Friday, July 25, 2014 at the Circle of Life Hospice and Legacy Lodge in Chariton, Iowa. She was 97 years young. Ethel was born on February 28, 1917 in Marion County, Iowa. In 1937 she married Gerald (Jerry) Hugh Smith, and together they had four children. She will be greatly missed. Ethel was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Jerry, in 1991; son-in-law, Kenneth Irving in 1994; father, Andrew Offenburger in 1936; mother, Ritta Ann (Karn) in1972; brothers Delmar Frederick (1905) and Perry Raymond (1973); sister Birdie Faye (1910); brother Orde Andrew (1983); sister Bertha Mae (DeWitt) (1988); and brothers Richard Lee (1919), and Elmer Glenn (1995). She is survived by daughters, N. Arlene Irving of Kissimmee, Florida and Beth Ann (Richard) Carpenter of Chariton, Iowa; sons Floyd D. Smith of Swisher, Iowa and Edward M. (Marlene) Smith of Phoenix, Arizona; ten grandchildren and twenty-six great-grandchildren. Ethel was a refreshing positive thinker; she always found a way to see the goodness in everyone and was always ready to help family and friends in need. She is remembered most for dedicating her life to her family. She particularly enjoyed cooking--for a single visitor or scores of people who visited over the holidays and special events--and was proud to be called, 'Grandma Noodles', in recognition of her distinctive and delicious home-cooked buttery noodles with beef sauce. After losing Jerry, Ethel enjoyed going to music 'jams' and continued to dance, gardening in her earlier years and was an expert in her craft of crocheting afghans. She was also a dedicated diarist and meticulously kept a daily diary since the late sixties, which settled many family trivia questions throughout the years. A Celebration of Life gathering will be held at Pierschbacher Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm followed by a memorial service. The family will conduct a private burial at the Chariton cemetery on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 in Chariton, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, Ethel requested that memorial donations be made to 'The Ethel and Jerry Smith Foundation', Circle of Life Hospice and Legacy Lodge, P.O. Box 569, 220 Northwestern Avenue, Chariton, Iowa 50049.