Obituary of Eleanor Overmier Smith

Eleanor Overmier Smith November 7, 1917 -March 8, 2014 Eleanor Overmier Smith, nee Eleanor Mary Overmier, age 96, passed away on Saturday, March 8, at her home in Larchmont, surrounded by family and friends. She had been a resident of Larchmont since 1958. Mrs. Smith was born in Chicago, Il, to Melvern D. Overmier and Helen Vail Overmier. She was predeceased by her older brother, Donald Vail Overmier, in 1941. She received an A.B. degree in fine arts from the University of Kansas in 1940. When her family moved to Oklahoma the following year, she became a portrait photographer and pursued that career most of the remainder of her life. After the family moved to New York, she was employed by Sarony's, one of the preeminent studios of the day. In 1947 she married Hayden Williams Smith, and moved to Palo Alto, CA, where Mr. Smith was then a graduate student at Stanford University. They returned to New York in 1955, when Mr. Smith joined the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey (now the Exxon Corp.). She was the beloved mother of a daughter, Jacqueline, and a son, Laurence (Angela Becerra), grandmother of Franchesca Umbrino Coleman and Casey Funt, Matthew Hayden and Lauren Cecelia Smith, and great-grandmother of Lee Coleman, Jr. and Hayden George Coleman. Mrs. Smith was active in the community. She taught photography and was a substitute teacher at the Hommocks Middle School from 1972 until 1990. She was a member of the Larchmont Women's Club for many years and an active member of the Larchmont Avenue Church. She and her husband traveled abroad extensively. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday March 22, 2014, 11:00 AM at Larchmont Avenue Presbyterian Church 60 Forest Park Ave. Larchmont, NY 10538