Bette Warner Smith, formerly of Matamoras, Pa., passed away on Wednesday, March 25. 2020, in the comfort of Community Hospice & Palliative Care’s Warner Center in Fernandina Beach, Florida. She was 96.
Daughter of Carl S. Warner and Helen Durant Warner, She was born Oct. 8, 1923, in Port Jervis, N.Y.
She lived most of her life in Matamoras, Pa.
She graduated from Matamoras High School in 1941 and attended Susquehanna University. She left college to join the U.S. Navy (The Waves) during World War II, and served as a Yeoman First Class at Boston Navy Yard.
Her love of and service to her country filled her with lifelong pride. She served as Matamoras Borough Secretary for 30 years and was also employed by Pike County Soil Conservation. She was a charter member of the Keystone Community Club; served on the board of Port/Pike Chapter American Red Cross; was active in the Matamoras Alumni Association, Devore Quinn Post 486 American Legion, and many other community and civic organizations. She was a lifelong member and trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Port Jervis.
She was preceded death in by her husband, Frances J. Smith; and her parents.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Warner F. and Sue Smith of Elizabethtown, Pa.; her daughters and sons-in-law, Susan Ryder and Dante DeFlorio; Kerry and Robert Woods all of Fernandina Beach, Fla.; six grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; her cousin Nancy Whitney of Vero Beach, Fla.; and many special friends.
Due to the current health crisis, a celebration of life will be announced at a later date by the Knight-Auchmoody Funeral Home, Port Jervis, NY. .Bette’s ashes will be buried next to her husband and her parents in Pine Grove Cemetery in her beloved Matamoras, PA. It was Bette’s wish that donations be made to helping organizations. “Love is patient, love is kind...”. Arrangements are by the Knight-Auchmoody Funeral Home,, 154 E. Main St., Port Jervis, NY. For information, or to send a condolence note to the family visit knight-auchmoody.com.