Dr. Patricia K. “Patti” Smith, of Morgantown, passed away on Feb. 20, 2023, at the Harmony at Morgantown senior living facility after a lengthy illness. She was a devoted wife and a loving mother and grandmother.
She was born on March 8, 1934, in Stroudsburg, Pa., daughter of the late Joseph G. and Mabel L. (Repsher) Kuchinski.
She graduated from East Stroudsburg State Teacher’s College (now East Stroudsburg University) in 1955 and spent most of her life as an educator teaching at every level from elementary school to post-graduate studies. She taught remedial reading to juvenile offenders at the Robert F. Kennedy Youth Center (now FCI Morgantown) during the 1970s. She earned her doctoral degree at West Virginia University in 1975 and accepted a professorship as a reading specialist at WVU’s College of Human Resources and Education, where she would serve until her retirement in 1995. Patti and her husband relocated to Fort Myers, Fla. in 1996, then to Greencastle, Pa. in 2006 and coming full circle, moved back to Morgantown in 2020.
Patti was proud of her Lithuanian heritage and her love for genealogy led her to travel to Lithuania to research her family history. Patti was also an accomplished writer. This talent inspired her to author her own story, along with several other family books, which leaves her family a gift to share with generations to come.
Patti is survived by her husband of 66 years, Dr. Edwin R. Smith, of Morgantown; sons, Timothy E. Smith and his wife Sandra, of Fredericksburg, Va., and Steven M. Smith and his wife Sharon, of Morgantown; and a daughter, Marianne Smith, of Baton Rouge, La. Additionally, she is survived by two grandsons, Vincent Bianca, of Chicago, and Michael Bianca, of Baton Rouge, La.; a sister, Constance Mervine, of Rosemont, Pa.; a brother, Michael Kuchinski and his wife Alison Heartwell, of Fredericksburg, Va.; and her cousin, Helen Beall, of Leesburg, Va.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Harmony Memory Care and Amedisys Hospice Care, especially Nicole, Laina, Chrystal, Lisa and Melissa, for Patti’s care during the final years of her life.
In keeping with her wishes, cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Hastings Funeral Home. Friends and family will be received at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 1 Guthrie Lane, Morgantown, from 10 a.m. until the funeral mass at 11 a.m. on Monday Feb. 27, with Msgr. Anthony Cincinnati, STD, VE as celebrant. Patti’s remains will be entombed at the WV National Cemetery in Grafton at a later date.
Condolences:
www.hastingsfuneralhome.com
