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SCARBOROUGH — Stephanie J. Smith passed away peacefully at Maine Medical Center on June 28, 2026, following a brief illness. She was 84 years old.
Born on August 19, 1941, in Portland, Stephanie was the beloved daughter of Josephine and Kenneth Smith. She grew up in South Portland, graduating from South Portland High School as class salutatorian. She went on to graduate from Mount Holyoke College where she remained active in alumnae activities up until her death.
Upon graduation from Mount Holyoke, Stephanie entered the Peace Corps, assigned to Brazil, and thus began in earnest a life-long love of world culture. She went on to work with the Experiment in International Living, leading groups of students in cultural immersion programs to Greece.
Stephanie returned to Maine and worked for Digital Equipment Corporation in Augusta for several years before transferring to Massachusetts and living in Cambridge, Massachusetts until her retirement.
Moving back to Maine in retirement, Stephanie settled in Scarborough and worked for Visit Portland at their Visitor Center as a guide.
She also became the inveterate volunteer, spending many years with the Friends of Scarborough Marsh, now recently, the Scarborough Land Trust. She volunteered for years with the Maine Audubon Society and assisted at the Beach to Beacon Road Race.
Stephanie also returned in retirement to her early love of golf, joining and volunteering with the Willowdale Women’s Golf League where she participated until her health recently prevented it.
At her 55th Mount Holyoke Reunion, Stephanie was presented with the Loyalty Award for her many years of service to her class of 1963, as an undergraduate and as an alumnus.
Stephanie adored her five nephews and their families. She was their dear Auntie Steph who always lovingly and proudly kept up with all of them with a keen and active interest and participating whenever possible in all their events and pursuits.
Stephanie was an avid photographer and leaves many treasured photos of family and of her travels, especially those of her self-described “Trip of a Lifetime” to Africa.
Stephanie was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her brother Gregory (Anita) Smith and sister Marion (Stephen) Morang and by beloved nephews, Paul (Karen) Smith, Andrew (Melanie) Smith, Jonathan (Cynthia) Smith, Benjamin (Amy) Smith, Adam (Anissa) Smith, and many grand and great grand nieces and nephews.
Stephanie leaves behind a large loving family along with many dear friends who will miss her deeply.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July12, 2026, at the Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland, Maine.
A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday July 13, 2026, at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, 150 Black Point Road, Scarborough, Maine.
Interment at Calvary Cemetery, South Portland at 2 p.m. on Wednesday July 15, 2026.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Stephanie’s memory to Scarborough Land Trust, Mount Holyoke College and Maine Audubon.
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https://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com/obituary/stephanie-smith
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Mary Ann Searles (Weiss)
Below are comments classmates have sent to our class president, Karel Koenig. Steph was a dear friend who loved us all and loved being with us. She is the person who initially entered all our email addresses one by one to set up this website-- who else would have had the patience and love for our class to have done that for us. Personally, I will miss her terribly-- it has been a joy working with her and Sally Nunneley on this fun communication tool. Mary Ann
Steph
Steph was a dedicated, caring soul, a gentle soul, always cheerful and positive, such a modest, solid, generous person, with calm, positive energy who asked for very little and gave very much. Steph was always willing to step up whenever needed. Steph’s loss is a great loss of a great person.
I loved the way she took the train from Maine to North Station with whatever potluck dish she wished to contribute to our MHC gatherings. She so enjoyed getting together with classmates, and as well she was happy to return to Maine upon retirement where she had siblings, nieces, nephews and grandbabies. She adopted Helen Weinland’s cat when Helen died. There’s friendship for you.
I have terrible news. Steph has passed away.
When we received this message from Lanie comments came flowing in:
Such sad news. I'm so sad. My heart is broken. This is really sad news. This is so very sad. I am very saddened by this news. I am so sorry. Terrible news.
Such distressing news. Our dear, wonderful Steph. How can this be?
A great loss and we will all miss her.
I was so shocked to hear the news. Her illness seems to have appeared so suddenly and unexpectedly. We had no chance to let her know how much love we have for her. I do hope she felt our warmth and love and care even so.
Steph will be missed.
We will miss her very much. Big loss to our class
She did so much to facilitate reunion attendance for classmates needing financial assistance. She will be sorely missed particularly at our upcoming mini reunion in Maine. She had been a key person in the planning.
Beverley Brown (Bryant)
On my second day on campus in September 1959, when I met Stephanie Smith, I felt as if I had known her for my entire life. She lived in Porter, and I was next door in Safford. We were both sailors and outdoor people. Within the week we were each voted to represent our respective dorms on the Freshman Class Nominating Committee. It was the beginning of what became a lifelong friendship, even though for the past forty years we have lived on opposite coasts.
Steph spent her life forging friendships and caring for others. She was thoughtful, deliberate in her evaluations, and always willing to take on hard tasks. We played field hockey and other sports together; we took many political science classes together. And she acted on her dreams of helping people by becoming one of the early Peace Corps volunteers in Brazil. She continued to work to improve the lives of others throughout her life.
During the 1990s we each had positions at high tech companies. And, for a couple of years I worked in the Boston area, where she was located. We both loved orchestral music. Steph had been a high school horn player. One of the last things that I did before I was transferred back to the Bay Area was to sit with her during a Boston Pops concert at a symphony floor table.
I always praised Steph for her service to our Class of 1963 and was proud to see her in action during our fundraising calls. Her first words when difficult assignments were being made were “I can help with that!” No matter how big or small the task she was always ready to accept the challenge, and the rest of us were the beneficiaries of her efforts.
I visited Steph a couple of times at her Scarborough home, of which she was very proud. The first time was in the early 2000s and the second was and overnight visit just last summer, when I was traveling south after a short visit to relatives who live on Maine’s Casco Bay. Of course, we went out to a great restaurant at a small harbor with views of the boats that had brought in the lobsters that we ate that evening. What a treat it was to be with her!
I will miss Steph’s smile, her warm welcome greetings, her calm reassurances in times of difficulty, and her willingness to accept challenges to make things better for us all. Steph Smith, my forever friend, will always have a place in my heart.
Edith Dulles
Beverly, Mary Ann, You have capturred the beauty of Steph. I was a fortunate person who had poli sci classes her. So saddened by this news. Edie