Helen R. Smeak

Helen Rohrer Smeak, 92, of Hagerstown, formerly of Bethesda, Md., passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her loving family, on Sunday, April 24, 2011.

She was the wife of the late Clarence O. Smeak Jr., who preceded her in 1987.

Born June 18, 1918, in Hagerstown, she was the daughter of the late Edgar and Marie Carter Rohrer. Her stepfather was Clarence Henry Rohrer, of Schindell and Rohrer Hardware Co. of Hagerstown.

Helen graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1936 and Duke University in 1940, as a member of Delta Gamma Sorority.

Mrs. Smeak was a member of First Brethren Church of Hagerstown. After relocating to Bethesda in 1958, the family joined Bethesda Presbyterian Church. Moving back to Hagerstown in 1982, she and Mr. Smeak attended Hagerstown Presbyterian and more recently St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Williamsport.

She had worked as a social worker, as well as a homemaker.

She was a member of AAUW, the Womenâ??s Club and Garden Club. She was a longtime choir member, as well as an avid gardener.

Helen was a participant of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging with the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Johns Hopkins GEM Study.

In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Smeak also was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Richard J. Humphries III; and her oldest daughter, Charlotte S. Chamberlain.

She is survived by her daughters, Nancy S. Humphries of New Market, Md., and Barbara S. Wiggs of Kitty Hawk, N.C.; grandsons, Christopher G. Wiggs of Frederick, Md., Justin A. Wiggs and wife, Tammy Passano Wiggs, of Baltimore; and Ian R. Chamberlain of Washington, D.C.; a granddaughter, Terra I. Chamberlain of Washington, D.C.; and a great-granddaughter, Courtney Page Wiggs of Baltimore.

A funeral service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at Rest Haven Funeral Chapel, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown. Interment will follow in Rest Haven Cemetery.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.