Mary K. Smith

A funeral service celebrating the life of Mary K. (Nelson) Smith, age 81, of Newark, will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5, at Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral Home, 179 Granville Street, Newark. Friends may call from 2-4 & 6-7:30 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. Private inurnment will take place in Cedar Hill Cemetery at a later date.Mary was born May 9, 1933 in Springfield, Illinois to the late Leroy Nelson and Clara (Jackman) Nelson Smalley. She passed away on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus.Mary retired in 1988 from the Minot, North Dakota Air Force Base where she was Chief of Operations. She was a member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church and enjoyed sewing, Bingo, traveling, especially to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and loved the Home Shopping Network. An avid sports fan, Mary watched all types of sports and was a fan of the OSU Buckeyes. She is survived by a daughter, Cassandra E. Smith Stigger of Reynoldsburg; three sons, Russell Smith, Jr. (Janet Hendry) of Newark, Jeffrey Lee Smith of Canton and Tony Smith of Columbus; 12 grandchildren, Steven P. Durr, Hisha L. Qirat-McClellan (Gavino McClellan), Desmond Qirat, Angel Evans, Allison Abbott Smith, Geoffrey Smith, Duncan Smith, Jeffrey Thomas Smith, Jorel T. Smith, Tatiana J. Smith, Tiffany J. Smith and Quinton Ailes; many great grandchildren; brothers, Father Charles Nelson of Winchester, IL and Arnold H. Smalley II of Savannah, GA; and many nieces and nephews.In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Russell Smith, Sr., on October 2, 1988; a daughter, Dana Marie Qirat on March 8, 1988; two brothers, Frank Nelson and Errol Nelson; and a sister, Lynn R. Hickman.Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association or to the National Kidney Foundation.Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral Home is honored to care for the Smith family.