MARIAN IONA DUFFY SMITH OCT0BER 8, 1930-May 17, 2024
Marian Smith’s legacy in the Glenwood Springs area was deep and long-lived. She spent the majority of her life in the 1300 block of Grand Avenue in Glenwood Springs. Her parents, James and Nellie (Geiger) Duffy, purchased their home at 1330 Grand in 1938 where Marian and her brother, Gordon, helped tend the chickens, milk the cows, feed the pigs and care for the produce garden that supplemented the family’s income. After graduating from Garfield County High School in 1948, Marian attended Mesa Junior College for one year before marrying RW “Bud” Smith in 1949. In 1953, Marian, Bud, and their oldest daughter, moved to 1332 Grand Avenue where she continued to live largely independently until shortly before her death. She and Bud raised their five children and witnessed the city of Glenwood Spring expand around their house and the adjacent Duffy agricultural property for more than seventy years. Marian’s commitment to her community was strong and her knowledge of the area and its history vast. She actively participated in her community throughout her life. Whether serving as a leader for Brownies, 4-H or Territorial Daughters; participating on community focused boards and organizations; engaging in political endeavors such as City Councilperson and Glenwood’s first woman mayor, or serving for twelve years as the first woman, Garfield County Commissioner, Marian made significant impacts on the area and its residents. She was a collector of books, spoons, plates, kachinas, art, antiques, and publisher’s clearinghouse items. She journaled, wrote poetry, did crossword puzzles and word searches, loved to travel, took frequent camping trips with friends and relatives, supported the local arts community, and faithfully went swimming until COVID curtailed this activity. She made sure never to throw away anything acquired. She was smart, stubborn, loved a lively conversation and did not hesitate to share her opinions on many topics. She could be pleasant when she chose and a challenge when she did not make that choice. She will be remembered by many and missed by those that knew her as friend, mentor and occasional foe. She is preceded in death by her parents, her two brothers, her husband and their son, Roger. She is survived by their children, Marlyse Cunningham (John), Robert Smith, Barry Smith (Janice Tonz) and Maylinn Smith; six grandchildren, Chandra, Heather, Mike, Clair, Willie and Maranda; and eight great-grandchildren, Trenton, Kaleb, Hailey, Colton, Dakota, Shaelyn, Cheyanne and Maggie. No services are current planned but the family may host a celebration of life for their parents at a later date. Efforts to identify opportunities for contributing to a memorial park in Glenwood on the Duffy property in the family’s name are occurring.
