Dolores Lucile Smith

Dolores Lucile Smith, 85, passed away Sunday, October 9, 2022.

Mrs. Smith was born June 20, 1937, in Miami, FL, to the late Walter John and Lucile Alice (Protzman) Hernandez. She attended Warren Wilson College and lived in the Lake Lure/Chimney Rock area for a number of years where her parents operated a coffee shop and general store. She married Lester Evan “LE” Havnaer and they settled in Hickory. After his death, she met and married Frederick Smith and they moved to Texas and then Louisiana. While in Louisiana she worked and eventually retired from the St. Tammany Parish Library in Slidell, LA. Following Fred’s passing, she developed a partnership with Chester Strain, who she considered the “love of her life”.

Dolores loved to stay busy caring for her many pets and plants. She had a compassionate heart and loved helping people.

She is survived by her daughter Sami Lepre (Bill); granddaughters, Amber Burch and Amanda Craddock (Benton) and seven great-grandchildren.

In honoring her wishes, there will be a direct cremation with no service, and her ashes will be scattered by immediate family along her beloved Rocky Broad River. The family invites you to please celebrate her memory in your own ways.

Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road is assisting the family.