MANCHESTER- Elinor Colby (Mahoney) Smith, 93, of Wenham, formerly of Salem, died Thursday, January 30, 2003. She had been a resident of the Oakwood Nursing Home in Manchester-by-the-Sea for several years.
Born in Salem, the daughter of the late Edith Coffin (Colby) and Attorney Robert Muhlig Mahoney, she was educated at Abbot Academy and Wellesley College and earned her M.A. in English Literature from Radcliffe College. In 1934, she married Boston and Salem architect Philip Horton Smith (1890-1960), son of the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company’s (Pequot Mills) managing agent, J. Foster Smith.
She formerly had been active in many North Shore organizations, including Salem’s Brookhouse Home for Aged Women, of which she was a Board member for over 40 years and a Board Secretary for thirty. During the 1930's, she and her late husband were active in Salem’s amateur theatrical group, The Privateers, an interest she continued in the 1950's with The Spotlighters, a drama club of Hamilton. She was an honorary member of Salem’s Busy Bee Sewing Circle.
She is survived by two granddaughters, Alexandra Chadwick “Wickie” Rowland and Hillary Webb Smith, two great grandchildren, Benjamin Williams Rowland and Rebecca Isabel Rowland. She was predeceased by her son, Philip Foster Smith, who died in 2001.
There are no visiting hours and funeral services are private. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Full-Spychalski Funeral Home, 84 Washington Square East, by Salem Common, Salem. Contributions may be made in Mrs. Smith’s memory to the National Wildlife Federation, 8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22184. For guest book, visit www.SalemFuneral.com.