Smith,Teresa "Connie" VALATIE It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of Connie Smith, age 83, of Kinderhook Lake, Valatie N.Y. Connie died August 19, 2010 surrounded by her family. Born in Calais Maine, Connie was pre-deceased by her parents, Ivan and Alice Murphy and sisters, Rita Graffman and Eileen Burnett. She graduated from the Calais Academy in 1945 and, in 1948, the nursing school of the Maine General Hospital in Portland Maine. She served in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps from 1953 to 1955. She was stationed at the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, Calif. where she met her husband of 55 years, Lt. Merl Smith. She followed her husband's civilian career while raising her four children. The family lived in Portland, Ore., Anaheim, Calif. and Houston, Texas before moving to Glenmont in 1974. While caring for her family, Connie continued her nursing career at the VA Stratton Hospital and The Albany Psychiatric Center and developed a reputation for her exquisite culinary talents where everyone was always welcomed at her table. Connie and her husband retired permanently in 1990 to their summer home on Kinderhook Lake. She is survived by her loving husband, Merl Smith; her sisters, Sandra Severance and Francina Pelletier, both of Calais, Maine; and her children, Merlyn (Glenn) Palmer, Meridee (Mark) Kerrigan, Alison L. Smith, and Lisa (David) Fortin. She is grandmother to Jamie, Caitlin, Glenn Jr., William, Karly and Molly; and great-grandmother to Conner, Reagan and Brooke. Connie will be remembered by many nieces and nephews as well as a wonderful group of friends. Her family would like to thank the Columbia-Greene Dialysis Center of Ghent for their exceptional care, and the nurses at Albany Memorial and Hospice. Family and friends are invited to a memorial service on Saturday, August 28 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 468 Sylvester St., Kinderhook, NY 12106. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Margaret's Center for Children, 27 Hackett Blvd., Albany, NY 12208.