Obituary of Donna Rae Smith

Donna Rae (Beyea) Smith Hornell Donna Rae (Beyea) Smith 77 of North Main Street Ext. passed away peacefully Sunday (Feb. 27, 2021) at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester being comforted by Ellen, Pat and Mary Ellen. Born July 13, 1944, she was the daughter of Howard (Bernice O’Brien) and Margaret (Wilford) VanCamp Beyea She was married to James C. Smith on December 12, 1964. She is survived by 3 children; Patrick (Mary Ellen) Smith, Lori Ann (Kevin) Griffin and Ellen (James “Jay”) Slaght, 10 grandchildren; Stacy (John) Alexander, Jake (Cally) Slaght, Christine (Jonathan) Blue, Cynthia Griffin Pfaff, Angela (Justin Morse) Slaght, James (Jennifer) Griffin, Kevin (Layna) Griffin, Amber Rae Smith, Elyssa Smith, Haydn Smith, 22 Great Grandchildren; Finn & Felix Alexander, Isabelle and Oliver Slaght, Allie, Kairi, Jonathan and Ana Blue, Bryce Willey, Makenzie and Benson Pfaff, Lydia, Ella and Chloe Pratt, Rowen and MaKenna Morse, James, Macy, Spencer, and Kimber Griffin, Kevin and Trace Griffin, Sisters; Glenyce Wiltrout and Sharon Liddell, Sister-in-law; Norva “Ikey” Beyea, Brothers-in-law; Francis (Sandra) Smith and Paul( Mary Jo) Smith, several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, her parents, Mother & Father-in-law; Edward and Margaret Smith, brothers; Gerald Beyea and Paul Beyea, sister-in-law; Helen Ann (Ronald) O’Rourke, brothers-in-law; Bill Wiltrout, Bobby Liddell, and Charles (Ann) Smith. Donna enjoyed her annual trips to Florida with Jim and the time they traveled across country to see the Grand Canyon.She loved it when Pat would make homemade spaghetti, and was thrilled to learn that Mary Ellen not only shared her love for Tom Jones but was also the only one willing to eat liver and onions with her. After Jim’s passing, she enjoyed her trips to the casino with Ellen, Jay, Stacy (who lived with her for many years) and Angela. She liked to read and share her many romance novels amongst friends. She most enjoyed the visits and phone calls with her kids, sisters, and grand kids, and getting pictures of her great grandkids. She could be seen enjoying a “Manhattan or two” with friends and when able, volunteering to help in the kitchen for weddings and luncheons. She also enjoyed her dinners out with Jan and her shopping trips to Bath with her friend Jim. She worked as a bartender for over 30 years until her retirement when she became what can best be described as a “Medical Taxi” for her grandson; Jake (who lovingly called her Brown Grandma” and her friends “Cindy, Wilma, Eva, Kelly, Marylou and Doris. Donna was a two time cancer survivor and a strong advocate for breast cancer awareness, autism awareness and anything and everything to support our Veterans. She missed her dogs; Rock and Sonny and enjoyed playing with her cat who she lovingly named “”Dog”. The only regret she spoke of was not having one last turkey dinner when all her kids, grand kids and greats were all in town. She loved being able to say she got all of her grandkids and her many great grandkids their first Christmas ornament. She loved to camp and sleepovers at the camp with her grandkids. She loved learning to cook again with Ellen. Chocolate covered cherries and ice cream were her go to comfort foods. She despised strawberry rhubarb pie and mincemeat pie.but made them for Jim because they were his favorites. Her kids swear she “accidentally” dropped That last rhubarb pie on purpose. She was tickled pink when Pat named Amber Rae after her and when Jake let her hold Izzy first and would never let “Ellen live that down. She was so proud of Kevvy when he joined the Air Force. She collected and saved all the hummingbirds and angels she received from her grandkids. She didn’t like sports but went out of her way to find something Yankee for Jay and everything Bills for Lori and all the Griffins. She was thankful every day for her love and time spent with her family. She cherished her life with Jim and missed him everyday for the rest of hers. To send a remembrance to the family, please visit www.brownandpowersfuneralhomes.com or on Facebook@brownpowersfh. The family is being assisted by Chester A. Gosper IV. The family will be present to receive friends on Wednesday (March 2, 2022) at the Bender-Brown & Powers Funeral Home., 354 Canisteo Street in Hornell from 1 PM until 4 PM where a funeral service will follow calling hours at 4PM. Deacon Robert McCormick will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Town of Fremont. Donations can be made to the American Breast Cancer Foundation/www.abcf.org, the Autism Speaks Foundation www.autismspeaks.org, or the Wounded Warrior Project www.woundedwarriorproject.org.