Mildred

Livengood Allison

Smith

Mildred Livengood Allison Smith, 94, died July 18, at The Watermark in Southbury, where she had been a resident since 2004. She was born September 30, 1917, in Warrensburg, Mo.

Her children Harold Allison and Xiao Xiang Huang of Newtown, Gladys Allison Stokes of Seneca Falls, N.Y., Dorothy Allison Halsey of Natick, Mass., Christine Allison and Bob Knight of Charlottesville, Va., Vivian Allison of Cooperstown, N.Y.; and Stanley Allison and Patty Hite of Seattle, Wash.; 11 grandchildren; 11 great-children; three stepdaughters; 10 step-grandchildren; and 15 step-great-grandchildren survive Mrs Smith. Her first husband, to whom she was married from 1939 to 1990, Hugh Vincent Allison; and her second husband, Wardley Blake Smith, to whom she was married from 1993 to 2007, predeceased Mrs Smith.

She held a bachelor of science in education with a library certificate, and served in Chanute, Kan., and the Fairfield school systems. After marriage, the Allisons became active in the Golden Hill United Methodist Church in Bridgeport. Mrs Smith received a 70-year membership certificate in 2009. She worked as a pastoral visitor and served as expense treasurer.

She edited the newsletter for the Connecticut District of the United Methodist Women (UMW), was a member of the board of directors of the United Methodist Homes of Connecticut, and the Fanny Crosby Home; was on the steering committee for establishing an Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers unit in Bridgeport; and was active in the People’s United Methodist Church in Greenville, Maine, near the couple’s vacation home.

For several years the Allisons provided a Girl Scout day camp on their property in Fairfield-Camp Deerlea. Mildred served on the board of the Woodfield Children’s Village on Stratfield Road in Bridgeport, and on the Fairfield Board of Education. She was a Meals On Wheels volunteer.

She became a charter initiate of Chapter H in Fairfield of Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in 1955, and became a charter member of Chapter V in Trumbull. She held all local chapter offices and all state offices

Mrs Smith loved to travel. In her lifetime she visited six game and wildlife preserves in Africa and India; climbed the Great Wall of China; sailed the South Pacific Islands; traveled through the Panama Canal; saw Mount Kilimanjaro; fished in the Great Lakes in Canada, in Alaska, and in the Atlantic Ocean; and hiked part of the Appalachian Trail. After she was widowed twice and passed her 90th birthday, she took a Mississippi River trip with her daughter Dorothy, and a trip to the Baja Peninsula, Mexico, with her son Stan. Other interests included swimming, birding, gardening, reading, knitting, and cooking.

A memorial service for Mrs Smith will be held at Golden Hill United Methodist Church in Bridgeport, Sunday, August 19, at noon.

The family requests memorial donations be made to the PEO International Peace Scholarship Fund, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines IA 50312.

The Newtown Bee        August 3, 2012