Doris Smith

Doris Ann Smith (1932 - 2024)

"Never be so kind, you forget to be clever,
 Never be so clever, you forget to be kind."

Doris Smith, 91, of Dayton, OH passed away on Sunday, May 19th comfortably surrounded by her family.

She was born in Cadiz, Kentucky on August 26th, 1932 to Virginia and Gilbert Philpot. Doris was fiercely loving towards those in her life and loved the role of mother, grandmother and even great grandmother. She is preceded in death by her parents, step father George Dracopoulos, sister and brother-in-law Joyce & George Fabian, husband Marvin Smith, daughter Debra Griffin and son, Michael Couch, and niece Joanna Gatten. Doris is survived by her son Robert (Ann), daughter-in-law Vickie, grand children Andrea, Matt (Tiffany), Zach (Mirian), Madeline (Tommy), Alex, Max (Meghan), Emma (Jack), and Hollis, and great grandchildren Alyssa, Shane, Cora, Grace, Mikey, Cameron, Scotty and Chloe. 

A member of the class of 1948 of Kaiser High School, she graduated early at the young age of 16. She raised three beautiful children and was a homemaker for 20 years. She began her career in 1973 at 41 years old working for Smales Pretzels. She then began working for Mead Corporation in 1975 as a Customer Service Representative, eventually rising to the head of training customer service at Lexus Nexus until her retirement in the 1990s. 

She married the love of her life, Marvin Smith, in 1980 and got to spend some of her golden years feeling the love that everyone deserves. Marvin took Doris' family as his own and loved them all deeply. While Marvin took Doris' family as his own, Doris seamlessly blended into her daughter-in-law's families, creating a connection that lasted a lifetime, including Sunday dinners at the Leschansky's and 'Rose Lake Halfies' with the Linsbergs. 

After Marvin passed in 1997, Doris became a docent at the Dayton Art Institute for 15 years, receiving the Emeritus Award for her outstanding service and dedication. She met some wonderful friends there who became famous as "The Antiques" at the local establishment, Trolley Stop, where they met every Monday for lunch. She became a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church where she joined the Altar Guild. While she loved being active in her community, she also was a great friend to many, and she cherished those friendships deeply. 

She was an avid reader, lover of art, good friend to all she met, and most of all loved her family deeply. Her sharp humor, quick wit, and ability to capture you in her storytelling will be remembered by all who were lucky enough to know her. Her spirit will live on in little bits and pieces in all of us. 

Her visitation and service will be held on Thursday, May 23rd at St. Paul's Episcopal Church located at 33 W Dixon Ave, Dayton, OH 45419, with the visitation starting at 10:30 and service at 11:30. The service will also be live streamed via Routsong Funeral Home’s YouTube channel at 

https://www.youtube.com/live/miPqGDKX5DQ?feature=shared

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dayton Art Institute by visiting https://dai.ticketapp.org/portal/product/8.