Marilyn June Smith

Marilyn June Smith

Our mom died just before midnight. She was always a night owl. Marilyn June Smith, loving wife, and mother breathed her last breath in the evening of February 26, 2021, at the age of 85 at Oakmonte Village in Lake Mary, Florida. The cause was cerebrovascular disease. She is preceded in death by her husband, Eugene ("E.B"), her father, Clyde, her mother, Margarite, and her brother, Donnie. She left behind four children, Michael, David, Allison, and Richard, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Our mom was the essence of style and beauty. Her greatest gift was her intuition, and it was a gift she used wisely. She was a woman of unshakable conviction and an avid reader. Mom always seemed to have all the answers and all animals on this planet approved of her without reservation, but most especially all the dogs and cats she ever had occasion to meet.

Marilyn was born on June 11, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. Marilyn attended Taft Highschool where she excelled in academics and played the piano for the morning school announcements. Marilyn was a member of the Latin Club, Drama Club, and was voted best dressed her senior year in high school. One of her favorite things to do in high school was go to the Saturday afternoon football games with her friends.

After graduating fourth in her class from high school, Marilyn attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. She joined the Alpha-Delta-Phi Sorority. Her spare time was filled with sorority activities and movies. She also liked to water ski and that is when she saw her first allegator. Marilyn met her future husband, E.B., while attending Florida Southern College. E.B. and Marilyn were married in Chicago, Illinois and settled in Bartow, Florida where E.B. worked for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Marilyn taught elementary school. Marilyn and E.B. moved to South Daytona where Marilyn taught school at Hurst Elementary School and where she obtained her Masters in Psychology degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida while raising four children. Marilyn and E.B. moved to Longwood, Florida, where Marilyn became a guidance counselor at Red Bug Elementary School.

She retired from counseling while in her early fifties to become a full-time business owner of a florist and gift shop that she started a few years earlier with her daughter. After running the florist for five years, Marilyn sold the florist shoppe. In her retired years, she loved to help take care of animals. There was never a stray animal that Marilyn didn't love. She also enjoyed feeding the birds and sitting outside on her porch for summer reading. She regularly contributed to numerous animal charities. Her retired life was full of active involvement with spending time with friends and family.

Marilyn was cremated, and her ashes will be buried at Oaklawn Cemetery at Tranquil Oaks, Sanford, Florida.


If Roses Grow in Heaven

By Dolores M. Garcia

If roses grow in heaven,
Lord please pick a bunch for me,
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.

Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.

Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there's an ache within my heart
that will never go away.


Goodbye Mom, until we meet again.