Barbara Ellen Johnson Smith

SCARBOROUGH – Barbara Ellen Johnson Smith, 89, of Scarborough, passed away Friday, July 16, 2021, at Maine Medical Center, Portland.

She was born September 25, 1931, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the only child of Carl O. Johnson and Mary (Brisnik) Johnson. She grew up in a large Slovene neighborhood on the westside of Indianapolis which was established in 1898 by her maternal grandparents and their peers when they migrated to the United States from Slovenia.

Receiving a quality Catholic education from local schools, she was salutatorian of the St. Mary Academy 1949 senior class and was awarded a four-year scholarship by the Alumni to Marian College.

Although secretarial/accounting were dominant in her working career, she also managed to perform and teach ballroom dancing at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Indianapolis, in step with the times as it was the era of the Big Bands.

She met and married the love of her life during the Korean War when the Army sent Art from Maine to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. They married on May 2, 1953, having celebrated their sixty eighth anniversary.

Then off to Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, for four years where she was secretary to the Athletic Director at the college while her husband attended college and played football on a scholarship.

They settled in the Portland, Maine, area and raised three-D children: Debbie, Doug and Dan. She worked in the offices at A and P Grocers and the WLOB Radio Station in Portland. She was active in Dyer School PTA in South Portland and served as Treasurer of the Osewantha Garden Club of South Portland where she participated in the many area flower shows and won several blue ribbons for her flower show entries in flower arranging.

She joined Travelers Insurance Company in Portland as administrative assistant to the Claims Manager. Then the opportunity arose for her to become owner-operator of the old established Legion Square Florist in South Portland. After many happy years of operating the flower shop, she joined her husband as co-owner of Century 21 Art Smith Realty which had been in operation previously under the names of Art Smith Realty and Century 21 First Choice Realty with offices in Portland, South Portland, Gorham, Windham, and Standish.

Upon retirement, she and her husband wintered in Southwest Florida near the Gulf of Mexico, first in Lehigh Acres and then in Venice and North Port for over twenty-five years.

She has been secretary for Highland Memorial Cemetery in South Portland for the past fifteen years before retiring recently.

She is survived by her husband, Arthur; her children, daughter Debbie Viola and her husband Willie of Windham, son Doug Smith and his wife Marni of Auburn, son Dan and his wife Karen of Scarborough; grandchildren, Kristie Zincone and her husband Jay of Massachusetts, Kurt Viola of Acton, Chris Smith of Scarborough, Jessica Smith of Scarborough, Nikole Smith of Buxton, Amanda Smith of Windham, Jason Smith and his wife Sara of Poland; great grandchildren, Olivia, Jack, Jasmine, Kaley, Levi, Landon, Isabelle, Kaid, Joseph, and River.

Visiting hours will be 4-7 p.m., Thursday, July 22, at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12 p.m., Friday, July 23, at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, Black Point Road, Scarborough, followed by interment at Highland Memorial Cemetery in South Portland.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation in Barbara’s name to: Highland Memorial Cemetery Association, Attn: Dianne, 18 Augusta Street, South Portland, ME 04106.




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