Mary Louise Smith

Mary Louise (Weaver) Smith was born on May 16, 1926, to Francis Patton Weaver and Ruth Hanna Krebs Weaver in Baltimore, Maryland. She celebrated her 100th birthday on May 16, 2026, and passed peacefully away on June 9, 2026 in Concord, Massachusetts.

Mary Louise grew up in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, where she graduated with honors from Atlantic City High School. She always told stories of spending hours on the beach and the Atlantic City boardwalk with her friends, and enjoying boating, ice skating, and jitterbugging. In 1945 she was crowned Miss Atlantic City and was the official hostess for the 1945 Miss America Pageant, an experience she thoroughly enjoyed.

Determined to go to college, she graduated first from the New Jersey College of Commerce before heading to Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. There she met and married her first husband David Meredith Williams Jr. They lived in Akron, Ohio, before settling in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to raise a family.

After her first marriage ended in divorce, she was working at the Colorado Springs Girl Scout Council when one of her troop leaders introduced her to her beloved second husband Mark Edward Smith III. They subsequently lived in Vienna, Virginia; Weilerbach, Germany; and Brussels, Belgium; before returning to the Washington DC area, first back to Vienna, Virginia, and then to Millersville, Maryland.

They spent over 52 years together, traveling the world, playing tennis, treasuring friends and family, trying new restaurants, and hosting countless Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays that brought their extended family together. She truly loved filling up the house with those she loved.

Whether gardening, investigating family genealogy, working as a docent at the National Museum of American History, attending the Baltimore Symphony, or simply walking her well-loved dogs, Mary Louise’s curiosity and enthusiasm for life was an example for everyone who knew her.

She imbued her children with her sense of adventure and fun and her love of animals and of the outdoors, taking them on countless picnics, mountain trips, rock and fossil hunting expeditions and later sharing travel adventures with them.

She was a good friend and a helpful mother, ready to listen and support any who were in need of comfort. Being a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother was her great joy and she extended her love to her five children – Deborah Hoskins, Christine Williams, David Meredith, Mark Smith IV, and Lauren Sheehan – her eight grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. 

Mary Louise was preceded in death by her parents, Francis and Ruth Weaver, her husband, Mark Smith III, and her brother, Stratton Weaver.

Please share your cherished memories, stories, and photos on her memorial page, as we celebrate Mary Louise’s long and fulfilling life. Donations in her honor can be made to the National Audubon Society or the American Humane Society.

Mary Louise will be buried with her husband Mark at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, at 11:00 am on August 26, 2026.

Arrangements are under the care of Badger Funeral Home, A Life Cemebration Home, 347 King St., Littleton, MA 01460. 978-486-3709