Doris Marie Smith

Doris Marie (Petro) Smith, age 97, died on January 13, 2024. She was born on May 20, 1926 in Shellsburg, Iowa to Tilson and Marie Petro.  She grew up in the Shellsburg area, moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in her teenage years.  She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1944 and began working as an switchboard operator at the telephone company.  In 1947, she married S. Stuart Smith, and they settled into married life in the Cedar Rapids area.  In 1957, the Smiths relocated to Chicago, Illinois to pursue studies at the Moody Bible Institute.  In 1967, the family moved to Elizabethton, Tennessee for work and eventually settled in Columbia, Tennessee where they managed the local airport and owned and operated Maury Aviation.  In 1980, they began managing the Centerville Airport and in 1981, they moved all operations to Centerville doing business as Centerville Aviation. When her husband, Stuart, passed away in 1987, Doris continued on as manager of the Centerville airport until retiring in 1998. Centerville thanked Doris for her years of service by celebrating a day at the airport as “Doris’s Day.” In 2016, Doris moved to Sebring, Florida to be closer to family.  Prior to her move to Sebring, she was a member of Fairfield Baptist Church in Centerville, TN. In Sebring, Doris became a member of Whispering Pines Baptist Church. Doris was preceded in death by her husband Stuart and her son, Daniel, and is survived by her brother, John, of Mt. Pleasant, MI; her sister, Martha, of Shellsburg, IA; her son, David, of Murphysboro, IL; her son, Mark, of Juno Beach, FL; and her son, Timothy, of Sebring, FL; as well as 5 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at the SIM Chapel, 900 Andes Dr., Sebring, FL on Friday, January 19, 2024 at 3:00 pm.

Arrangements entrusted to:
Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home
4001 Sebring Parkway
Sebring, FL 33870
Online condolences may be left at:
www.stephensonnelsonfh.com