Marie Hillman Smith, age 95, died Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, at her home of over 60 years in Florence. She was buried Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 in St. Michael’s Cemetery in St. Florian, after a private family funeral Mass.
Marie was born on Mar. 20, 1922, in Sheffield, Alabama to George and Inez Porter Hillman. She was the fourth child of a family of seven children. Marie attended public schools in Sheffield and graduated from Sheffield High School in 1939. She attended Judson College in Marion, Alabama and later attended Florence State Teachers College (now UNA). During her college years, she worked as a member of the college-staffed Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. When the United States entered World War II, Marie began work as an analytical chemist at TVA, where she met her future husband, Anthony.
On June 6, 1943, Marie married Anthony James Smith III, of Kansas City, Missouri, a research chemist for TVA. They were married for 51 years, until his death in 1994.
Marie was known by many in the Florence area as the long-time proprietor of Collectors Corner Antiques, formerly at the corner of Hermitage Drive and Royal Avenue. Marie was a Certified Antiques Appraiser and conducted estate sales in the area for a number of years. She continued to maintain an interest in antiques throughout her life.
Marie and her husband were active members of St. Joseph Catholic Church and the PTA at St. Joseph School, where Marie taught second grade for several years.
Survivors include her son Tony, of Florence; daughters, Pamela Malone, of Nashville, Tennessee, Diane Rigaux, of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Constance Barker, of Middleburg, Virginia; grandchildren Jeff Malone and Anne-Marie Gropp, of Nashville, Tennessee and Christina Christopoulos, of New York City, New York; great-grandchildren Megan Malone, of Nashville and Peter Christopoulos, of New York City; sisters, Betty Chambers, of Florence and Madeline Bonds, of Charlotte, North Carolina; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family requests that memorials be made to St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Florence, or Hospice of the Shoals in Florence. You may leave condolences at sprywilliams.com.
