Mildred "Mim" Smith, a life-long Wood County resident who graduated from Bowling Green High
School and who went on to serve the Bowling Green schools, both as a volunteer and as an employee, died
on October 18 at Otterbein Portage Valley in Pember-ville. She was 88.
Mim was born in rural Wood County on June 16, 1921 to J. Warden and Jessie Elder. Her family moved into
the city of Bowling Green during the Depression, and she graduated from Bowling Green High School in
1939. She later briefly attended Bowling Green State University.
During World War II she met C. Robert "Bob" Smith, a sailor from Olean, New York who was
enrolled at B.G.S.U. under the Navy’s V-12 College Training Program. They were married in Boston on July
4, 1944. He preceded her in death on December 9, 1999.
Before raising her family, Mim was employed at Kroger in Bowling Green. When her sons attended Kenwood
Elementary School, she volunteered there as a head librarian. Later, she went to work for the Bowling
Green City Schools, first as a lunchroom cashier at the Junior High School, and then as a secretary in
the Central Administration office. She retired in 1982.
Mim was a life-long member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Bowling Green, and also had been an
active member of the Toledo chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association (in honor of Bob’s service
during the war).
She enjoyed keeping in touch with friends and high school classmates by helping to organize annual class
reunions, and meeting regularly with other retired city schools secretaries. A long-time member of the
Falcon Club at B.G.S.U., she loved to attend football and basketball games and root for the Falcons.
Mim is survived by two sons: Steven (and wife, Gina) of Jefferson, Ohio; and Jerry (and wife, Betty) of
Sylvania. Also surviving are five grandchildren: Eryn Smith, Evan and Elan Smith, all of Jefferson,
Ohio; Colin Smith of Bowling Green; and Quinn Smith of Sylvania.
She was also preceded in death by her brother, Maurice Elder, of Wooster, Ohio.
Visitation will be held at Dunn Funeral Home, 408 W. Wooster St., Bowling Green, on Tuesday from 2 to 4
and 6 to 8 p.m..
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Dunn Funeral Home on Wednesday at 11 a.m., followed by
interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
Memorial contributions in Mim’s name may be given to the Shriners Children’s Hospitals, the Erie Shores
Council of the Boy Scouts of America, or the Kenwood Elementary School library.
On-line condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.dunnfuneralhome.com.