Mary E. Smith Harding, 86, Erie, died Sunday, June 22, 2008, at Guest Home Estates, Erie. Death followed a lengthy period of failing health.

She was born Sept. 7, 19212, in Kimball to Frank H. and Ruth Naomi Wiman Smith. She graduated form Grant Township Rural High School, Stark, in 1940.

On April 23, 1949, she married Gordon G. Harding in Erie and they made their home there. He died Sept. 14, 1979.

She was employed as an operator for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. from 1950 to 1955. She worked at Harding Grocery, Kimball, from 1955 to 1958 and at Swan’s Grocery, Erie, from 1959 to 1969.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church, Erie, and had been a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 102 for 47 years.

Survivors include a nephew and his wife, Jack L. and Pat Reynolds, South Haven; a great-nephew and his wife, Jeremy and Sarah Reynolds, and their daughter; a great-niece and her husband, Amanda L. and Joel Russell, Codell, and their four children; a stepdaughter and her husband, Sharon and Frank Schwalenberg, New York, and their daughters Beth and Lisa and their families; several cousins; and several nieces and nephews by marriage.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Muriel L. Smith Reynolds.

Funeral will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church, Erie. Burial will be in Bethel Cemetery under the direction of Pierce-Carson-Wall Funeral Home.

Contributions may be made to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice or First Baptist Church, Erie.