Melvina Smith

Melvina Smith, Speedway, Indiana, passed away on June 24, 2021, at the age of 93, at St. Vincent’s hospital in Indianapolis. Known to family and friends as “Mel,” she was born to Jennie B. Bell Dorton and Charles Franklin Dorton in Boone County, Kentucky, on November 11, 1927. She grew up in Louisville, KY, and in her teenage years moved with her family to the small town of Elizabeth, Indiana. After high school graduation, she lived and worked in Louisville, where she met her life’s partner, Claude W. Smith (Smitty). She married Smitty in 1951, and moved to Indianapolis, eventually settling in Speedway, where they raised a family, attended church, and made many wonderful, life-long friends.

Mel was first and foremost a devoted wife to Smitty and mother to her three sons and daughter. She was a woman of strong character, who was trusted and respected by her family. She was a talented homemaker, willing seamstress, cheerful cook, and party planner. She was a DIY’er long before HGTV hit the scene, decorating her home, and refinishing and recovering many garage sale finds. She was Smitty’s lifelong dance partner and shared his love of euchre and bridge, and they enjoyed neighborhood card clubs and going to dances with other couples who had these interests in common. When the kids were growing up, she also became a master at camping and led many family outings, often with nature loving friends alongside. Later in life, they spent several winters in Destin, Florida, with friends from Speedway and formed new friendships there with fellow snowbirds from Canada and all over the United States. She and Smitty also got to enjoy  vacations with family as well as church friends and Florida friends.

Mel had many talents, but never claimed to. She played the piano by ear, and she loved to sing. She would play when asked, but always seemed to enjoy the talents of others more. She especially loved hearing the singing and playing of family members at annual reunions. Mel maintained lifelong relationships with her sister, brothers, nephews, nieces, and cousins–and she cared about all of them very much.

Mel had a strong faith in God, and was a member of Zion Evangelical United Church of Christ, where she sang in the choir for many years. When she wasn’t in the choir loft, she equally enjoyed the jazz, spirituals, and traditional sacred music in Sunday services, and loved the good people who served it up. During the pandemic, she couldn’t physically get to church but still faithfully “attended” services on television, including from her hospital bed with her favorite nurse.

Mel made her home and kitchen a welcome place for family and friends. Her front porch was a comfortable place for neighbors and family to relax with a glass of tea or a beer and share jokes and conversation. If you happened to drop by in the middle of dinner, she would greet you with a cheerful, “Come on in, we’re waiting for you!” She loved to write little cards and notes to family and friends, that were always warm and kind.

Even at 93, she kept her mind as sharp as her grandchildren’s. She loved current events, kept up on all of the latest news, and enjoyed reading the latest bestselling books. She battled hearing aid batteries and struggled to hear others on the phone, but she learned to read lips and remained a great conversationalist. She was the quiet listener in the family, but she never lost her ability to articulate carefully reasoned viewpoints when asked, and often made us laugh with witty one-liners that came to be known as Mel-isms. She appreciated all sports, and never missed the Olympics or the NCAA tournament. She cheered from the gallery (virtually) as her favorite professional golfer, Phil Mickelson, won the 2021 PGA championship, and was glued to the 2021 French Open men’s final, saying she felt like she was “watching history.”

She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews and their families: son Craig and daughter-in-law Aniko Smith and step-grandson Tommy; son Dave Smith, Dave’s daughter and Mel’s granddaughter Meghan and her husband Brad Hammer; Dave’s granddaughter and Mel’s great granddaughter Eliza; daughter Amy Smith and her fiancé Jeff Moody; granddaughter Katie Smith and Katie’s son and Mel’s great grandson Gabe; grandson Ryan Smith; Cindy Smith, mother of Katie and Ryan; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews including the Dorton’s–Bruce and Von; Wayne, Shelly, Cody and Sadie; Jamie; Junie, Marilyn, and Sarah; Jonathan and Staci; Mike and children including daughter Carrie and her family; and Brian and Fran; and the Eckart’s–Keith, Mark and Debbie, James, John, Debbie Stuart, Rachel Stuart, and their dear families. And her little fish Teddy.

Mel is preceded in death by her husband Claude “Smitty” Smith, son Doug Smith, and grandson Hunter Smith, as well as her brother Harold F. Dorton and sister-in-law Ruth, sister Ella Eckart and brother-in-law Bobby, brother Charles E. Dorton, and nephew Charles R. Dorton.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Speedway Chapter of the P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization), in care of Janet Norris, 5917 Nash Lane, Speedway, IN 46224.