Marilyn Beverly (Evans) Smith, of Myerstown, PA, passed away on Sunday, May 4, 2025. Marilyn was the wife of George Alden Smith Sr. for over 55 years. He predeceased her in 2009.
Born in Wilkes-Barre, PA, on May 29, 1931, Marilyn was the daughter of Stanley Woodward Evans Sr. and Sophia Sylvia (Kochins) Evans. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Bloomsburg College, where she met her future husband in an art history class. While at Bloomsburg, she received a Service Key Award and was a member of both Kappa Delta Pi (Academic Fraternity) and the B Club (Athletic Club). Marilyn also ran the Bloomsburg water ballet program and earned her certification in lifesaving.
After graduation, she was hired and worked as a teacher in Baltimore, MD, and then moved to Lebanon County after the birth of their first son. While raising seven children, she was a substitute teacher for the Lebanon School District and did homebound teaching. After advancing her education and going for her master’s in psycho-sociology, she did her internship at Philhaven Hospital. She then changed her career from education in grades 1-8 to mental health. She was the executive director of Outreach Inc. and set up group homes in Dauphin, Lancaster, Lehigh, Cumberland, Perry, and Lebanon counties.
Marilyn was a long-term member of Trinity United Methodist Church (previously Centenary) in Lebanon, where she was an adult Sunday school teacher, a member of United Methodist Women, a Christian servant minister, and led the women’s bible study group called the Rachel Circle until her passing. The Rachel Circle was the longest continuously run bible study group at Trinity.
She was a leader in the Annville Arts Council (called May Day celebration), started the Arts Council in Lebanon, was a committee member on VISTA program, and was a past president of the Annville Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the National Organization of Women (NOW), and the League of Women Voters. She was one of the founders of Women’s Investment Now (WIN) Club.
Marilyn and her husband, George, started and led the Cleona Quittapahilla variety 4-H club, always striving to create an environment for children to learn.
She enjoyed classical music and watching her granddaughter sing in operas. She loved to travel, and for one trip, she traveled with her family of nine, plus her mother, across the U.S. in their VW bus. Later, she traveled to many destinations, including Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, England, Costa Rica, Italy, Israel, Ireland, Alaska, Hawaii, China, and Australia.
A constant learner, she loved nonfiction and religious books. She spread the word of God with anyone she met, recalling a trip overseas where she tried to spread God’s word, and a man pulled away from her as if the book burned his hand.
She lovingly called all her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren by their first and middle names. Surviving are her sons, George Alden Jr. (wife, Vivian), Rev. David Alan (wife, Susan), of Lancaster, MA, Paul Drew, of Kutztown, PA, Daniel Woodward (wife, Yan), of Jacksonville, FL; daughters, Lorri Lynn (Smith) Umberger (husband, Mark), of Myerstown, PA, Dr. Tammy Lynn Smith (husband, Dr. William Thompson), of Lake Wales, FL, and Beverly Glyde Smith, of Myerstown, PA; 18 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
She was the last of her immediate family and was predeceased by her brothers, Stanley, Theodore, Thomas, William, Ronald, Joseph, and Robert Evans.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., from Trinity United Methodist Church, 757 Willow St., Lebanon, PA 17046. Interment will follow at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. An evening viewing will be held on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, from 6-8 p.m., at the Church and on Thursday morning from 8 a.m. until the time of her service at the Church.
