Obituary for Martha Jane Smock.
The Ithaca Journal, Aug 23 1997, P. 4
"Martha Jane Smock, 88, died on Thursday, August 21, 1997 at the Hoosick Falls Health Center, Hoosick Falls, NY. Martha lived in Ithaca from 1937 until August, 1996, when she moved to Meikleknox Home, Cambridge, NY to be near her daughter, Sara Jane. Her husband, Robert M. Smock, died in 1986.
Martha was born in Elyria, Ohio in 1908, the daughter of May and William French, a United Presbyterian minister. She was predeceased by her four brothers.
A graduate of Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio, she was a social worker in Pittsburg, PA., and then married Bob Smock in 1932. Bob was a professor of pomology at Cornell and he and Martha traveled extensively in connection with his work as the developer of controlled atmosphere storage for apples.
The Smocks were active members of the First Presbyterian Church in Ithaca. A member for over sixty years, Martha was a long-time supervisor of the pre-school Sunday school, one of the first female elders, a deacon and a moderator of Presbyterian women.
Martha co-founded the International Friendship Club which met the needs of foreign student wives at Cornell for over fifty years.
Her many community services included involvement with the "Bib'N Tucker" shop and The Salvation Army board. Bob and Martha served as a host family to many foreign Cornell students.
Martha is survived by her children Sara Jane Cormier of Salem, NY. David Robert Smock of Silver Spring, MD, and William Hugh Smock of Berkeley, CA; and is survived by six grandchildren."