Obituary: Dorothy Krueger Smith, 95, Formerly of Madison

Information and photo submitted by the family.

Dorothy "Dot" Krueger Smith, a longtime former resident of Madison and Clinton, peacefully passed away on July 2, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona after a short illness with her daughter by her side.

Dot was born on March 31, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois to Grace Emily (Millard) and Robert Carl Krueger. She married Edward Clayton Smith (Ed) at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on July 28, 1944. Ed was in the Navy during WWII and was on the USS Alaska in the Pacific Campaign.

When Ed came back from the war, the couple lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts while Ed earned his bachelor's degree at MIT. Here, their son Kenneth Edward (Ken) was born in 1950. They then lived in Long Island, New York where son David Elliot (Dave) was born in 1953 and Ramsey, New Jersey where daughter Susana Carolina (Sue) was born in 1958.

In 1963, the family moved to Connecticut. They built a house in Madison on 9 Surf Club Road. Ed was really into boating since he had grown up near the beach in New Jersey and so thus started multiple decades of several sailboats, starting out with small and graduating to larger including a slick racing sloop. Dot was really a good sport!

Dot earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in Sociology and Library Science. She worked as the Head Librarian at the town library in Middlefield, Connecticut, and retired after about 15 years. She then worked as the librarian in the Madison Congregational Church for a few years before totally retiring.

In December 1986, Ed and Dot's grandson Robert Thomas Smith (Rob) was born in the family house. That was a shock for everyone especially for his parents, Anne and Dave. There was no time to make it to the hospital!

Dot and Ed started seriously travelling. They had been on trips before to Hawaii, England, and cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska. Dot had gone to Greece with a group. But they also sought to travel to all 50 states and got to all of the states. They also kept up with boating, travelling within New England on sailboats and eventually closer to home on a cabin cruiser.

Dot and Ed socialized quite a bit while boating with others in a group sail. They belonged to a few yacht clubs and the Saybrook Power Squadron. They were members of the Madison Winter Club, and took part in the dinners at the Club and picnics at the Surf Club.

For their 50th wedding anniversary in 1994, Dot and Ed renewed their vows at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and at the Madison Congregational Church.

Dot and Ed were married for 66.66 years.

Dot lived in Clinton for a few years after Hurricane Irene convinced her to leave the shoreline. With her daughter Sue's insistence and support, Dot moved to Tempe in 2015.

Dot is predeceased by Ed, Kenneth, and David. She is survived by her daughter Sue (Matt), grandson Rob (Tina), nieces and nephews, and her beloved cat La Belle (Kitty).

We were all blessed to have known her and will miss her a lot! Dot is at peace and is with her beloved family and the Lord like she wanted to be.

Love you, Mom!

A celebration of Dot's life will be held at the Madison Congregational Church on Sunday Oct., 13 2019 at 12 noon.

Interment of her ashes in the Church's Memorial Garden will follow.