Lenora Irene Smart

Lenora Irene Smart, 98, a lifetime resident of Dennison, died peacefully at Park Village Health Care Center in Dover on Friday, August 31, 2012. She was born November 18, 1913 in Dennison, Ohio to the late Edward Arthur and Hedwig (Mangon) Fondriest. Lenora was the wife of Howard E. “Mike” Smart to whom she was married on March 23, 1938. He preceded her in death on August 13, 1980.

What started as an interest in sewing gradually led Lenora into the world of fashion. She was the owner/manager of the L. Smart Shoppe which she opened on Grant Street in Dennison in 1951 and was active in the business until her retirement in 1987.

She was a 1931 graduate of Immaculate Conception High School and a lifetime member of Immaculate Conception Church and its Altar Society. She was an active community member and a member of AARP. Lenora had the special honor of being the oldest Alumni of Immaculate Conception High School at the Alumni banquet in 2011. She also loved caring for her dog, Cooper.

The last of her family’s generation, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Joseph A. (Francis) Fondriest and Edward A. Fondriest, Jr.; and four sisters, Margaret (Lester) Carrothers, Frances (Fred) Blackstone, Sister Mary Clement Fondriest and Virginia (Lloyd) Rinehart; as well as her parents and husband. Lenora’s surviving family include her special niece, Bernadette Blackstone; sister-in-law, Mary Barrett; and numerous nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and great grand nieces and nephews.

Services for Lenora, officiated by Father Anthony Lonzo, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 5, in Immaculate Conception Church in Dennison. Interment will follow beside her husband in St. Mary’s Cemetery near Dennison. Family and friends are invited to call at the R.K. Lindsey Funeral Home in Dennison from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, during which time a Christian Wake Service will be held at 7:45 p.m. Memorial contributions in Lenora’s name may be directed to Immaculate Conception Church, 206 N. 1st St., Dennison, OH 44621. Lenora’s family wish to extend their sincere gratitude to Dr. John Burnham and the staff of Park Village Health Care Center for their attentive and dedicated care during the last months of her life.