WAUKESHA

Florence D. Smith (nee Merten)

 

Aug. 13, 1916 – Nov. 29, 2012


Florence Smith, 96, a lifetime Waukesha resident, died Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012, at the Virginia Health & Rehabilitation Center in Waukesha. She was born in Waukesha on Aug. 13, 1916, the oldest child of C.H. and Dorothy (nee Brandt) Merten.

Florence attended Hadfield Elementary School and graduated from Waukesha High School in 1934.

Flo will be remembered for her exceptional love, dedication and guidance to her family. She and her high school sweetheart and husband, Orlie, loved traveling and new experiences.

In the early ’60s they made several trips to Europe. They loved to camp and visited 49 of the 50 U.S. states. She was the “ears” for Orlie, who lost his hearing during his teen years.

After raising her four children, she began her career helping others, first as a teaching assistant at Mothers Day Out, and later as a teacher’s aide, assisting special needs individuals in the Waukesha School District.

Florence was a lifetime member at Grace Lutheran Church, where she taught Sunday school, was a member of the Ladies Aid, choir and Missionary Society, and was a 75-plusyear member of the East Side Circle.

She will also be remembered for her crafts. Her yard animals, at her home on East Avenue, “participated” in numerous school class trips and were involved in many Christmas and Easter church programs.

Florence will be sadly missed by her daughter, Katharine J. (Robert) Young of Denver; son, Andrew C. (Connie) Smith of Waukesha; and daughters- in-law, Jacki (Gene) Goetz of Waukesha and Helen Smith of Saginaw, Mich. She is further survived by her grandchildren, Mark, Eric, Daniel, Shellie, Robert, Joseph, Shawn, Carrie, Sarah, Christopher, Jennifer, Robert, Karol, Stephanie, Erin and Michael. She will be greatly missed by her great-grandchildren, Christine, Brandon, Leslie, Ashley, Brittany, Caryn, Megan, Gabriel, Isabelle, Miranda, Heather, Kylene, Emily, Brooke, Zachary, Justine, Christopher, Alexandria, Natalie, Robert, Colin, Taylor, James, Alison, Patrick, Nicolas, Grace, Jack, Roxanne, Jeremy and Joshua; her great-great granddaughters, Brianna and Julia; her sister-in-law and close friend, Martha Merten; and numerous other relatives and friends.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Orlie; their sons, Thomas and Charles; grandson, Matthew; and great-great grandson, Stephan. She is also preceded in death by her sisters, Irma, Lillian and Grace, and her brothers, Raymond and William.

Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. until the 7 p.m. funeral service Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 700 Beechwood Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186. The Rev. Arthur Koepsell is officiating. Interment will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Prairie Home Cemetery. Please meet at Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Ave., Waukesha, at 9:30 a.m. for a procession to the cemetery.

If desired, memorials to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church are appreciated.

Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral, Cremation and Preplanning Services is honored to serve the family. For further information, please call the funeral home at 547-4035 or visit our website at www.waukeshafunerals.com for directions or to leave the family an online tribute message.