Mary Esther Smith

Mary Esther Smith, age 82, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2018 with her four loving daughters at her side. Mary was born March 2, 1935 in Clearfield, PA. She was the wife of the late William "Bill" Richard Smith, who passed away in 2015. Their 60 years together were filled with love and devotion and their lifelong commitment to each other was a testimony of their love and a true inspiration to their entire family. She was also preceded in death by one daughter, Sherilyn Marie Smith. Mary was a devout Catholic as a member of St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church where she served as a Eucharistic minister for many years. In her earlier years, she focused on caring for her family as a homemaker. For many years, she was employed by the City of Asheville Accounting Department and retired in 1997. Mary has always been young at heart, smiling, and ready for laughter. She loved to sew, embroider, quilt, and looked forward to baking pies and cookies each holiday season. She used her sewing talent to design and create prayer blankets for the sick and homebound in the Asheville area. Also, sewing clothes for her four girls was something she loved to do. A few of her favorite pastimes were playing church bingo, visiting the casino with her husband, Bill, and dining and shopping with her girls. She will be greatly missed by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who were the joy of her life and held a very special place in her heart. She was adored by her entire family and her legacy will carry on for generations to come. She is survived by four daughters, Evelyn Liebel (Bruce) of West Seneca, NY, Susan Steinback (Rick) of Boiling Springs, SC, Maureen Swann (Tim) of Swannanoa and Wendy Balot, of Swannanoa. She is also survived by nine grandchildren; Thomas Liebel of Killeen, TX, Jenna Liebel Walczyk (Stephen) of Lancaster, NY, Joshua Steinback of Spartanburg, SC, Andrew Kirchmeyer (Emily) of Asheville, Jeremiah Swann (Becky) of Black Mountain, Nicholas Swann (Niki) of Black Mountain, Whitney Swann Harvey (Michael) of Asheville, Christopher Balot of San Diego, CA, Megan Balot of Charleston, SC and twelve great-grandchildren. Her family will receive friends at 6:30 PM on Monday, February 12 in the Chapel of Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian. A Rosary will be said starting at 6:00 PM on Monday at the funeral home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, February 13 at St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church with Father Adrian Porras officiating. Interment will follow at the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain. In lieu of flowers, the family graciously asks that you make a memorial contribution in Mary’s name to St. Joseph’s Indian School, PO Box 300, Chamberlain, SD 57325 (www.stjo.org) or Unbound, 1 Elmwood Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66103, which supports the needs of impoverished children.