Obituary of Helen M. Smith

Helen M. Smith, 83, died October 29, 2021, in Springfield, Virginia after a yearlong illness.  A private graveside service will be held on Monday, November 15, 10:30am at Quantico National Cemetery.  A life celebration will be held in the Washington, DC area for family and friends sometime during the summer of 2022.

Helen was born July 21, 1938, in Rexburg, Idaho to Harry Bruno and Arelie Tea Markowski. She grew up in the intermountain west with her three siblings, graduating from Idaho Falls High School in 1956.  She married William “Bill” Darley Smith in 1957.  Their first home was in Logan, UT where he attended Utah State and she worked at the Logan City Public Library while raising two daughters.

When her husband took a federal job after graduation the family relocated to Virginia.  Helen would call Virginia her home for 56 years, excluding short periods when Bill’s work took the family to Bangkok and Manila.

When she first arrived in Virginia, Helen went to work at Thomas Jefferson Library in Falls Church.  Next came her favorite “job” of taking care of her granddaughter until she started school.  This led Helen to a position as a before/afterschool daycare aide in the City of Falls Church Public Schools.  She also was active with the Ladies Auxiliary of the Fairfax City Volunteer Fire Department. 

Helen is preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Bill.  She is survived by her daughters, Nan (Andrew) Zacharias, Michelle (Barre) Simmons, her granddaughter Kate Taylor, her sisters Mary Ann (Reed) Ragan and Dorothy Towler, a brother Harry J Markowski, and her brothers-in-law, Dave (Nancy) Swain and John (Jill) Swain, as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a contribution to the Fairfax County Public Library Foundation.