Mary Helen Smith

Mary Helen was born on February 10, 1944 to Bantz and Irene Cogar in Bergoo, West Virginia. When she was in high school her family decided to head west and settled in Mill City, Oregon. It was by chance that Mary met the love of her life and high school sweetheart, Thomas Smith. They married on the same day Mary graduated from high school in 1963. One of the best things Tom and Mary did was start a family. They were blessed with two sons, Jon and Tim. Mary was a wonderful mother who enjoyed playing with her boys out in the yard or fixing her boys a nice meal. She was known to bring her famous macaroni salad to any family get together. Mary enjoyed visits to the coast, camping and doing crosswords. She was outgoing and after her boys were grown dedicated a lot of her time to the city council and participating on the board to build the new middle school. Mary loved to be part of the Mill City community. After years of struggling with long term illness, Mary passed away on September 20, 2018 at Salem Hospital. She is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Thomas A. Smith; sons, Jon (Diane) Smith, Tim (Danielle) Smith; grandchildren, Heather, Michelle, Lynzee; and one great-grandchild Lincoln in addition to several nieces and nephews.