Phyllis Smith

Phyllis Smith, 96, a lifelong resident of Hopkinton, passed away peacefully on Oct. 3 with family by her side. Born in Framingham on Jan. 10, 1927, she was one of 15 children of the late Ruth (Lougee) and Louis Chouinard of Hopkinton.

She was predeceased by her husband, Tom Ed Smith (July 1982), and son James R. Smith (May 2023). She is survived by son Thomas E. Smith and wife Melanie A. Smith of Hopkinton, daughter-in-law Nancy Smith (wife of the late James R. Smith of Hopkinton), siblings Herbert (Rick) Chouinard and wife Jackie of Westborough, Phillip Chouinard and wife Thelma of Ashland, and Thelma Pageau of Watertown, grandchildren David T. Smith and wife Wendy Smith, Jason D. Smith of Phillips, Maine, and Kaitlin Smith and husband Edward Painter. She leaves four great-grandchildren, Kelsey, Samantha, Hunter and Josie, and two great-great-grandchildren, Lyla and Roxous. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews in Massachusetts as well as Tennessee, Oregon and Alaska.

Phyllis was a devoted wife, mother and sister. Her world revolved around her whole family with parties, weekend get-togethers with cookouts, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays and vacations together. She was an active member of The First Congregational Church in Hopkinton and loved teaching Sunday School. She especially relished her time spent on Lake Winnipesaukee, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. She also loved taking long rides throughout New England with her family on Sundays. She had to drop out of high school to help her mother and father take care of her siblings, but despite that setback, she went on to become an excellent bookkeeper and office manager for several companies, most notably the United Auto Workers as secretary/treasurer/office manager. Her latter years were spent working for the Town of Hopkinton in the Tax Collector’s Office, where she was well-known and liked. She worked into her 80s, until her family made her retire. She continued to work as a volunteer at the Hopkinton Senior Center for a number of years.

She is forever at peace now in God’s hands and will be ever loved by those left behind.

A funeral service will take place on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 11 a.m. at Faith Community Church in Hopkinton. Funeral arrangements are under the care of the Chesmore Funeral Home of Hopkinton. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741 or donate.cancer.org.

Obituaries are submissions, typically from funeral homes, that are not subject to the same level of editorial oversight as the rest of the Hopkinton Independent. Obituaries may be edited for grammatical and factual mistakes and clarifications and shortened for space considerations.