Smith, RuthRuth Meads Smith, born on 12/2/21, died in Brunswick, Maine, on 1/11/13. Her husband Herschel Smith predeceased her by three years. Survivors include daughters Gale Greenleaf and Lee and son-in-law Stephen Smith, 3 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, and sister- and brother-in-law Ann Taranuk of Westport, Connecticut and Donald Smith of Clifton, New Jersey. Ruth moved from Weeksville, North Carolina, to Brooklyn, New York with her parents while a child. She graduated high school with honors in business classes, and worked to help support her family. After the war began, she volunteered for the National Security Women's Corps, which trained women in plane spotting, ambulance driving, and other defense activities. She didn't do well at driving but did marry the driving instructor, Herschel Smith. They married on September 25, 1942 in Brooklyn, where Herschel was serving in the U.S. Navy. Ruth and her first daughter lived with grandparents in North Carolina, then joined Herschel in California until he got out of the Navy. With new daughter Gale, they moved to a house in South Norwalk, Connecticut, that Herschel built after the war. There they raised Lee and Gale and Ruth worked part-time at several jobs. She loved blues and big band music, walking, and cooking. She began driving again in her 40s after she moved to Milford, Connecticut, and became active in historical and environmental groups. She encouraged her daughters in music and in going to college.During her 70s, she was instrumental in a community effort to prevent a local developer from succeeding in a land grab that would have taken a Long Island Sound view from the public, even speaking to the Connecticut legislature. In her later years and illness she still enjoyed music, looking at pictures of her grandchildren, and animals.