Obituary of Mary A Smith

Mary Anne Smith of Gladstone New Jersey passed away at Jersey Shore University Medical Center on Thursday August 6th of a brain aneurysm. She was 53 years old. Mary was born in Newark and raised in Chatham Township. Mary was well known locally as the owner of Bernardsville Hardware Store. She entered that business eight years ago with little knowledge of the business and during her time there transformed it into a very successful entity. She understood its importance to the community and took pride in getting to know as many customers as possible. To her every customer mattered and she considered many of them close friends. Mary was active in the lives of both of her children. Her challenging path as a mother included coping with a child on the autism spectrum. Mary faced this challenge with the same level of tenacity as she did the other challenges in her life. She was her son's greatest advocate as his needs changed throughout his childhood. She was a past President of the parent organization at his school. She co-founded a basketball program for children on the autism spectrum that touched the lives of affected children from the ages of 5 to25. Mary was active in the charity Autism Speaks routinely using the hardware store to promote that cause. She also created a program at the hardware store allowing local schools including Bernardsville High School and Ridge High School to send students with special needs to the hardware store to obtain job-training skills. Mary was also active in the life of her daughter who attended Bernardsville High School. Her daughter was involved with many school theatre productions and Mary provided support by donating all of the materials needed for set design and construction. Despite the challenges of dealing with a child with special needs Mary always found equal time to nurture and encourage her daughter. She is survived by her two children Tyler Smith of Gladstone, Emily Smith of Gladstone; her father Fredrick Neff of Millville and her siblings Lucy Camacho of Summit, Julie Short and her husband Paul of Morris Plains, Stephen Neff of Millville and Michelle Neff of Bedminster. Mary also had 13 nieces and nephews that she loved very much. She was pre-deceased by her mother Helen Neff, her sister Irene Neff and her brother Michael Neff. Visitation will be from 2 to 4pm and 6 to 8pm on Monday August 10th, at Gallaway & Crane Funeral Home at 101 S Finley Avenue in Basking Ridge. A funeral mass will be held at 10:00am on Tuesday August 11th at the Church of Christ the King at 16 Blue Mill Road, New Vernon. For further information please contact Gallaway & Crane Funeral Home at 908-766-0250, or to light an online condolence candle please visit our website at www.gcfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Autism Speaks. Please call or email Venas Matthews-Bazin at (646) 385-8546 or venas.matthews-bazin@autismspeaks.org.