GILFORD, NH -- Avis Perkins Smart, matriarch of a far-flung and devoted family, died at home in Gilford on September 18, 2012.
A product of the Depression and World War II, she and her husband Bill built their family through a series of frequent moves, while finding time for active community engagement at every stop. With her dry sense of humor and warm smile, she also presided over a long, long string of innovative social gatherings that brought together a careful balance between new friends and the same old crowd. In January, she and Bill celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary. Bill died in March.
Avis was born in Schenectady, NY at Ellis Hospital and grew up at the height of the Depression. She attended Nott Terrace High School and then the University of New Hampshire, where in 1942 she earned a bachelor of science in child psychology. She then worked at the General Electric Company in Schenectady and won an award for selling the most war bonds She married Bill in 1946 after his return from service in the Pacific. Together, under the auspices of General Electric and Honeywell, they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, Hinsdale, Ill., Darien, Conn., Pittsfield, Mass., Dover, NH, London, Paris, Wellesley, Mass., Bryn Mawr. Penn., Wayzata, Minn., and Boston. They made dear and close friends at every stop. Through a long and active retirement they traveled the world and divided their time between Gilford, NH and Charleston, S.C.
Avis was a lifelong Unitarian and active in her churches in New Hampshire and South Carolina. She was also a loyal UNH alumna, a Girl Scout leader, a longtime member of PEO and many other organizations wherever she lived. She shared her formidable energy and organizational skills with book groups, gourmet dinner clubs, community theaters, PTAs, investment clubs, Sunday schools and more.
She is survived by four children and their families: Suzann Smart and Tom Merklinger of Clifton Park, NY, Robert Smart and Christine Belson of Washington, DC, David Smart and Margaret Frey of Cleveland, OH, and Christopher Smart and Shari Loessberg of Washington, DC; and seven grandchildren: Robert, David and John Merklinger, Anne, Caroline, Kate and Betty Smart. She is also survived by her sister, Reba Mehan of Schenectady, NY and her dear friend Jayne McAllister of Gilford, NH. She is predeceased by her brother Robert W. Perkins, who was awarded the Silver Star after he died in 1943 in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, and her brother Gerard A. Perkins, who died in 1977 after retiring from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The family is grateful to C. Daniel Griffin, APRN of Belknap Family Health Center for his friendship and care and to the extraordinary staff of Live Free at Home Healthcare.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 am on November 3 at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Laconia, 172 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH 03246.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Avis Perkins Smart ’42 Fund, c/o UNH Foundation, 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements.