Elizabeth Mackenzie Smith

Elizabeth Mackenzie Smith, 98, of Chenango Bridge, N.Y., beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019 following a short illness. Born June 26, 1921, in Glasgow, Scotland, she emigrated to the United States with her parents in 1923, living in Toledo, Ohio, and Stamford, Conn., before moving to Greenwhich Village in New York City where she spent her teenage years. A graduate of Washington Irving High School, Elizabeth, known to friends as Elsie, attended New York University and worked for the Borden Milk  Company. She was active in the choir and Crusaders youth group at First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan where she married her childhood sweetheart  Robert Leland Smith on May 15, 1943. The couple moved to Bridgeport, Conn.,  where she worked for General Electric, and later, in 1949, to Chenango Bridge. She was a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church in Binghamton, N.Y., where she sang in the choir, served as a Sunday school teacher, deacon and  chairwoman of the Howland-Gulliver Women’s Circle. She volunteered at Chenango Bridge Elementary School, the Chenango Bridge Nursing Home and was a Cub Scout den mother for 12 years. She later worked in medical services department of the Broome County Department of Social Services for 14 years, retiring in 1979. Elizabeth loved music, poetry, literature and traveling, visiting  Europe several times, including a trip to her birthplace in Glasgow. She also loved traveling to see family and friends, particularly visiting Cape Cod and Williamsburg, Va. Elizabeth was predeceased by her parents, Andrew and Robena Geddes, her husband of 72 years, Robert, and her beloved daughter-in-law Nancy Haberle Smith. She is survived by sons, Leland Andrew Smith of Fairfax, Va.; Douglas Leslie Smith of Chenango Bridge; Bruce Mackenzie Smith of Columbia, S.C., and Scott Jamieson Smith of Galesville, Md. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, Jennifer E. Smith and husband Jeffrey McCarthy of Arlington, Va.; Ashley M.  Smith of London, England; Laura J. (Samuel) Dodd of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Justin M. Smith of Mount Pleasant, S.C.; Mackenzie A. (Walter) Rhodes of Isle of Palms, S.C.; L. Steven Smith of Grand Rapids, Mich. and Devon R. Smith of Mount Pleasant, S.C; as well as five great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

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