Phyllis Smith

Phyllis (Minich) Smith, age 92, of Hadley, passed away Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at home after a long fulfilling life.

She was born on January 29, 1931 in Natrona Heights to Kleber and Anna (Herman) Minich. She was one of five children. “We were poor but I never knew it because nobody told me.” She actually wore homemade dresses make out of printed flour sacks during the Depression. She worked as a hospital ward clerk and at Gulf Research before graduating with an RN degree from Allegheny Valley Hospital School of Nursing and receiving a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She subsequently worked as a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh where she learned the wonders of Phisohex, Paregoric and soaking wounds in Tide.

She married Keith B. Smith, MD on June 14, 1957 and with the birth of their first child elected to become a fulltime homemaker, a decision she never regretted. She had three children: Kevin, Melissa Sprouse (David) and Sterrett (Julie); three grandchildren, Keith, Olivia (Wesley) and Andrew; and one great-grandchild, Karis. She has two living siblings, Gene and Ann. Her older brothers Kenneth and Jay along with her husband, preceded her in death.

She was always ready for an adventure whether it was a trip to Canada, Israel, Arizona or simply running errands. When you were with Phyllis you were part of her team. She possessed a knack for making people feel special, especially children. She nobly gave of herself to make the lives of others richer. She was quick to soothe emotional as well as physical wounds. She had a mildly quirky sense of humor and was able to charm with the occasional quip. When in her phase of buying Tiffany-style lamps, her husband came home to a new acquisition, he remonstrated that whenever he bought a new firearm or tractor he always sold another one first (for the record – not strictly true). Chagrined and after a pregnant silence she asked, “Want to buy a lamp?” When the family lived in Mt. Lebanon her whirlwind of antique collecting came to an abrupt end when her 6’5” 225 pound husband realized there wasn’t a stick of furniture in the living room on which he was permitted to sit. She had a keen ability to see to the heart of any matter and was never fooled by embellishments, excuses or half-truths. She was a wizard at driving a stick shift sports car. Her earthly presence will undeniably be missed by our family, but we are not without the blessed hope of reuniting with her in glory in the presence of our Lord. “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory?” “O death where is your sting?” “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thank you Mom for always being there when we needed you. And, thank you for your love.

A Private Family Funeral Service will be held be held in Loutzenhiser-Jordan Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc., 366-368 S. Main St., Greenville. Burial will be in West Glade Run Cemetery, Kittanning, PA.