Smith, Nancy M. (Hughson) Greece: January 18, 2016, at the age of 86. Nancy is predeceased by her husband, Adam Smith. She is survived by her children, Jeff (Debbie) Smith, David (Ginny) Smith, Mitch (Joann) Smith Lisbeth (Curtis) Birthwright; grandchildren, Jeffrey, Tyrel, Kevin, Jamie, Kyle, Jake, Duell, David, Mitchell, Karissa, Curtis Spencer; great-grandchildren, Adrienna, Emma, Lucy Rae, Jesse Hannah. Nancy's visitation will be held 1-5 PM on Sunday at the funeral home, 1411 Vintage Lane (between Rte 390 Long Pond Rd). Her funeral service will be celebrated 10:00 am on Monday at the funeral home. Spring burial in Garland Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Beamer Hughes Foundation, 353 Widgedon Landing, Hilton NY 14468 in Nancy's memory. Nancy Maude Smith was born on July 28, 1929, three months before the Great Depression. She grew up in Erie, PA on 14th St. in a 2 bedroom, brick row house with her parents Joseph and Christina Hughson, older sister June, older brother Willis, and younger sister Beth. Nancy's father worked at the Erie Times in shipping and delivery. Her mother worked part time at Serafina's Restaurant as a waitress. Nancy told many stories of her childhood. She would sit around the radio with her family and listen to music, news and to the president speak. It was common during WW2 to practice "duck and cover" drills during school. Nancy and her classmates had to duck underneath the desks and cover their heads. Nancy talked about how things were rationed due to the war. Scrap metal was collected and coupons or tokens were given to families to get things like gas, sugar, cheese, and shoes. Nancy was a self described "tomboy" who liked to shoot her brother's bb gun and hop on the back of the ice truck for a ride. Having gone to St. Vincent High School, Nancy received her diploma in 1948. Her year book states that she owned a huge collection of records and participated in Girl Reserves. Nancy was on student council and enjoyed playing Girls Intramurals and being a gym monitor. Under her picture in the yearbook the words that were used to describe her were: The girl with the personality... is a live wire... has a sparkling smile... rated tops by all. After graduating it wasn't long before Adam, her high school sweetheart, asked for her hand in marriage. The ceremony took place on July 31st, 1949 at Delaware Ave. Baptist Church in Erie. The reception was held in her parent's backyard on a very humid, 90 degree day. Shortly after their union Adam left for the navy. Nancy would remain at home with her parents until Adam was honorably discharged in 1950. During the 50's Nancy and Adam lived in Erie and had 3 sons: Jeff, Dave and Mitch. Eventually Adam gained enough experience in sales that he was offered a job with a pay increase but they would have to move their family to Rochester, NY. Being adventurous, Nancy was happy to pack up and go! They moved to a tiny house in Greece and lived there for a little more than 10 years. Surprisingly, they were about to outgrow that little house when Nancy found out she was pregnant at age 40! Once again, Nancy and Adam packed up everything and moved to a bigger house on Centerwood Dr. in Greece. It was 1969, shortly before Nancy's only girl was born, Lisbeth Ann, 2/13/70. The family would live at that home for about 10 years. But since Nancy loved to move, they moved 3 more times over the years, all within the town of Greece. Nature was very important to Nancy. She found such beauty in flowers, sunsets, beaches and lakes. Nancy had a passion for gardening and often did so in white pants (because they could be bleached). She would plant various trees and carry buckets of water to them every morning and evening so they would get a good start at growing. She had a huge heart for animals especially her dog Skippy and her cat Sammy. She even loved the little garden snakes that she would run into now and then. Nancy had a fondness for traveling and had been many places through the years. She travelled with Adam and also with her sister June and friend Ginny. She has been on numerous cruises and trips to the Caribbean, Hawaii, CA, Las Vegas, Alaska, New England and Disney. She also loved travelling to watch various sporting events; from her son Dave playing baseball, to grandkids playing various sports, to watching the Buffalo Bills play in Orchard Park. Never reaching her dream of getting a degree in nursing, Nancy certainly knew quite a bit about how to care for others. She was a stay at home mom and was a nurse, without a degree, every day to her 4 children and her husband. Nancy saved son Mitch from choking on a sucker and took care of him after he fell in a bee hive. She nursed son Dave back to health when he fell out of a tree and had a tree limb stabbing his arm. And she took care of son Jeff after he fell off his cousin, Brenda's bike and split his chin open, needing stitches. She was always there to dry daughter Bethie's tears for whatever it was she was crying about! She also saved Adam's life many times. And Nancy provided countless band aids and kisses to the grand kid's boo boos. The most significant nursing experience that Nancy had was when Adam was diagnosed with cancer in1992. She took care of Adam every day until he took his last breath in 1999. They had been married for 50 years. After Adam passed away, Nancy moved in with her daughter, son-in-law and their 2 children. She lived in an in-law apartment without a kitchen because she hated to cook. That would be left to her daughter who enjoyed it. Nancy had 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren that she adored. She rarely missed a sporting event, dance recital, school concert or graduation. She loved watching her kid's kids. Nancy had a great sense of humor and was known to be feisty at times. She didn't like to be told what to do. Nancy was able to keep the peace if needed by giving out the advice, "Kill them with kindness." She also knew when to put her foot down. Nancy taught her family that perseverance and hard work pay off. And when the going gets tough, the tough get going! Nancy had as many wonderful times as there were bumps in the road. She always handled everything with grace and class, as a lady would, and sometimes with a little chutzpah, if needed. Nancy was a beautiful, strong woman who molded a beautiful, strong family and led a beautiful, long life! 1929-2016 Posted by Lisbeth Birthwright