March 28, 2024

Martha Smith Scottsdale, Ariz.

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Martha Ann Browning Smith, 82, of Scottsdale, Ariz., formerly of Creston, died July 31, 2014, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Memorial services will be 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Graceland Cemetery Chapel, 1830 S. Cherry Street Rd., Creston. The Rev. Tony Thurston will officiate. Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Research.

Martha, daughter of Calvin Maynard Browning and Laura Marian (Stokes) Browning, was born on Dec. 31, 1931, in Kirksville, Mo.

Martha graduated from Memphis High School in 1949 and earned a master’s degree in music education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. Martha taught school for many years. Martha served as a foster mother for 21 children. She also worked as a social and case worker for the state of Iowa with an emphasis on working with deaf and disabled persons. She played with the Mesa City Band for approximately six years. Martha was active at the McDowell Village Assisted Living Facility in Scottsdale. She produced the “Really Big Talent Show” in February 2014 and held a genealogy talk in July 2014.

Martha is survived by her husband Robert Earl Smith of Scottsdale, Ariz.; son Steven Elview Smith (Sandy) of Chicago, Ill.; grandsons, Steven Shane Smith (Meredith) and Nathan Adam Smith (Erika); great-grandchildren, Skylar, Savanna, Frank, and Wyatt; step-grandson Bronson Werning; and brother Maynard Dean Browning (Beverly).

She was preceded in death by her parents.