Merrimac, MA – Mitsuko (Iijima) “Mimi” Smith, 88, wife of Malcolm H. Smith, passed away peacefully at home on February 8, 2020 surrounded by her loving family.
The daughter of the late Hidekatsu and Kama (Matsumoto) Iijima, Mimi was raised and educated in Tokyo Japan and at the age of eighteen, met her husband Malcolm whom she married on April 1, 1950. They would have celebrated their 70th anniversary this year. Arriving in the United States the day after she turned 21, Mimi learned how to read, write and speak English all on her own. Having relocated many times during the years Malcolm served in the US Army, it seemed that with each new state they lived in, the family grew by another child. The Smith Family finally settled down in Merrimac as a family with three daughters and three sons.
Mimi enjoyed going to Foxwoods and often came home saying “I didn’t win but I had a good time”. In the summer she would go to the campground with her daughter and everyone knew Mimi for making her fried rice for potluck suppers. For numerous years she was very involved with her daughters at the Red Barn Sewing & Yarn Center where her kindness touched all the quilters she met.
She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her family was her pride and joy. Mimi will be greatly missed by everyone that was fortunate enough to have had her in their lives. To have known her was to have loved her.
In addition to her loving husband Malcolm, she is survived by her children, Helen Gosselin of Merrimac; Roger Smith and his wife Janice of Merrimac; Linda Smith of Merrimac; Michael Smith and his wife Susan of Milford, NH; Gerald (Jerry) Smith and his wife Kathleen of Salem, NH; Diana (Dee Dee) Simmons and her husband Timothy of Haverhill; fourteen grandchildren, Alan Gosselin and wife Lauren, Jayme Smith Waye and husband Jason, Jarrod Smith, Kristian Smith, Danielle Smith Cameron, Michael Smith Jr, Darren Smith, Brandon Smith and his wife Cassandra, Amanda Smith, David Smith, Nicole Smith, Cassandra Simmons, Alexandra Simmons, Vanessa Simmons; ten great-grandchildren, Leo Gosselin, Brooke Brennan, Jeffrey and Ariana Waye, Colby, Hailey and Logan Cameron, Darien and Mei-Li Smith, and Evan Smith; three step great grandchildren, Colton Page, Morgan and Grace Wells; several nieces and nephews in Japan, Canada and the United States. She was predeceased by her beloved grandson, Blair Gosselin and by her sisters, Haruko Noguchi and Yoshiko Tanahashi.
Funeral services will be private. Arrangements are by the Kevin B. Comeau Funeral Home, 486 Main Street, Haverhill. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Please visit Comeau Funeral Home on Facebook or www.comeaufuneral.com
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