Mary Smith History (Library)

Mary was born in Suffold, England, on Sept. 27, 1940. She came to Canada with her father Ted and mother Daisy when she was 3 years old. They settled on a farm near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan.

The family grew, as Mary was joined by siblings David, Judith, Adrian, Deborah and Alison. Mary left school early to escape poverty. After working several jobs, she married Nick Winterhalt when she was 17. They had 2 sons; Karl and Ken.

The marriage ended and Mary moved to Thunder Bay with her children, where they survived on a combination of welfare and income from various part-time jobs.

Mary was determined to be a social worker, so she returned to school to finish her high school by upgrading at Confederation College. Later she enrolled in Lakehead University's Bachelor of Arts program. There, in 1967, she met Don Smith, they married in 1969 and Don adopted Karl and Ken soon after.

In 1970, the family moved to Toronto for 2 years while Mary completed her Masters in Social Work at the University of Toronto. After graduating, they moved back to Thunder Bay where Mary worked for the Ministry of Community and Social Services.

Mary pioneered the Life Skills Program for Confederation College. She also taught courses at Confederation College and Lakehead University. She even tried her hand at private enterprise when she and two friends ran Handmade House, a tea room and craft shop.

In 1986, Mary moved to Toronto to pursue Doctoral studies at O.I.S.E. When her course work was complete and she started to work on her thesis, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in Jan. 1990. On July 5, she entered St. Michael's Hospital where they discovered she had cancer.

Mary Smith died on August 26, 1990, her body was cremated and a Memorial Service was held in Thunder Bay on Sept. 9, 1990, where her friends and family celebrated her bountiful life.