Loretta W. Smith

Loretta Wagner Smith, age 87, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Christiana Hospital in Newark.

Loretta was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of the late C. Merrill Wagner and Alice Rice Wagner. She graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, DE in 1953, where she excelled in academics and athletics. She earned her Bachelors degree from the University of Delaware in 1957 and her Masters degree in 1968. She was a distinguished member of the Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Tau Delta honor societies. She embraced international travel, was a lifelong learner and voracious reader.

She had a career in teaching English starting with Mt. Pleasant High School in Wilmington, DE. and then Brandywine College. She also taught at Widener University until her retirement. After retirement she was a primary caregiver for her husband who had been incapacitated by a stroke. She continued to embrace her friendships established over the years and was loved by many.

In addition to her parents, Loretta is predeceased by her husband, Edward R. Smith who passed in 2015. She is survived by her son, Scott Edward Smith, her grandsons, Troy Edward Smith and Colin Robert Smith, her daughter-in-law, Jeanne Smith, all of Garnet Valley, PA., her brother, James Merrill Wagner of Columbia, SC., her sister, Florence Eileen Wagner of Columbia, MD., a niece, Danielle Wagner-White of Charleston, SC and a nephew, Brian Wagner of Cary, NC.

Interment will be private at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Bear, Delaware.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter, 399 Market Street, #250, Philadelphia, PA 19106.