Obituary of Barbara Smith

Fort Walton Beach resident, Barbara Mary Smith, age 92, joined the angels on August 22, 2023, peacefully surrounded by family at her daughter’s Melbourne, Florida home. She was a loving wife, mother and matriarch of a very large family, who loved her deeply, and will miss her greatly.

She was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania on June 7, 1931, an only child to parents Fred and Pauline Posdon Schadel. After studying nursing at the Jefferson College of Nursing in Philadelphia, she married Jack Smith of Archbald, PA in 1952.  They were blessed with five children and traveled the world with Jack's career in the CIA.

She continued her nursing education at Northwest Florida University and settled into her beloved family home in Fort Walton Beach. She worked for more than 40 years in the newborn nursery at Fort Walton Beach hospital. Her home was the epicenter of the family as her heart and her door were always open to family, grandbabies, fur babies, neighbors, and friends with her signature jar of delicious cookies and endless love. She was an avid gardener and baker who loved baseball and softball, watching birds, reading books, teaching children to swim, and spending time with family. She had a magical way of soothing babies with her warm smile and keen sense of what was needed in an instant.

Barbara was preceded in death by her parents Fred and Pauline Posdon Schadel, in-laws Jack and Anna Daley Smith, husband Jack Smith and daughter Sharon Martin.

She is survived by her children and their spouses; Barbara and husband Don Kelley of Columbia, SC, Diane and husband Jim Whidden of Melbourne, FL, James and wife Debbie Smith of Uhrichsville, OH, Susan and husband David Quave of Butler, TN and son-in-law Marty Martin of Ft. Walton Beach; her sister-in-law Sr. Mary Ann Smith of NY; her grandchildren and their spouses; Stefany and husband Andy Mack, Monica and husband Aaron Hudson, Andrew Smith, Jennifer Chance, Michael Fowler and wife Misty, Paul Carroll, Anna Smith, Malissa and husband Stephen Bavouset, Jeffrey Chance, Angela and husband Jason Whitman, Johnathan Chance and wife Krizia, Erin and wife Rebecca Quave, Joe and wife Amanda Quave, Daniel and wife Whitney Quave, Gretchen and husband Kent O’Rear.  She was a doting great-grandmother to Jason Powe, Kylee Davis, Alexis, Amily, and Brylynn Fowler, Molly and Drew Mack, Haley Grace Davis, Anna Kate and Olivia Taylor Bavouset, Chase, Rylan, and Peyton Carroll, Ruby and Ryleigh Hudson, Zidane, Dante, Virgil, Zelda, and Kairi Jean Whitman.

Barbara loved her family beyond words and will always be remembered for her big heart. 

We are forever grateful for the years of love and support from next-door family, Don and Kathy Harrington. Special thanks to the wonderful caregivers from St Francis Reflections Hospice and Assisting Hands Home Care in Melbourne, FL and Gentiva Hospice in Fort Walton Beach, FL.

The family will have a small graveside service at Beal Memorial Cemetery on October 12, 2023, at 11 am. Online condolences may be left at www.beachfuneralhome.com