Charlotte Marietta (Gray) Smith

Charlotte Marietta Smith, 80, of Fort Laramie, WY, passed away on July 24, 2022, in Scottsbluff, NE. 

Charlotte was born in Warren, OH, to Homer Austin Gray and Harriet Lavene Gray on September 8, 1941. She grew up and graduated from high school in Northern Ohio, after which she married Thomas John Smith on August 13, 1960, in Northfield, OH. A mother and homemaker, Charlotte was also an accomplished  basket weaver who once designed and created the ornaments for the Mississippi State Tree in Washington, DC, and whose hand-coiled pine needle baskets are in the permanent collections of various museums and have been featured in books celebrating the art of basket making.

A devout Christian, Charlotte was very approachable and compassionate and always left people feeling better about themselves and more hopeful about their circumstances than they were before interacting with her. In addition to her cheerful disposition and genuine enjoyment of others, she was sustained by nature, which inspired her Native American art and other creative undertakings. Charlotte was also an avid reader and student of Native American culture and the West. 

Charlotte is survived by her husband, Thomas John Smith; sister, Karen Chase; three sons and their wives; and six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Visitation will be held at Reeb Funeral Home, Sylvania, Tuesday, August 2, 2022, from 11 A.M. until  the service begins at 12 P.M. Interment will follow at Toledo Memorial Park,  Sylvania.  

Memorial contributions can be made in Charlotte’s memory to one of the following organizations: St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School in Thoreau, NM; St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, SD; or Wings as Eagles Ministries in Caputa, SD. Online condolences to reebfuneralhome.com

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