Visitation: FRIDAY, October 23, 2015 from 7-9 pm and SATURDAY, October 24, 2015 from 12 noon – 2 pm at The Dietrich Funeral Homes, Inc., 2480 Kensington Ave. Amherst.
Service: SATURDAY, October 24, 2015: A Funeral
Service will be held at 2 pm at The Dietrich Funeral Homes, Inc., 2480 Kensington Ave., Amherst. SMITH – Anita F.
(nee Mehl/Frommling)
Suddenly, September 21, 2015 in
Mardorf Neustadt am Ruebenberge
(Hanover, Germany), beloved wife of
the late William Smith; loving mother of
William Smith II, Maryann (Paul) Marzo
and Anita (Charles) McCabe; grandmother
of Charles, Tabatha, Craig,
Angela and Gregory. Mrs. Smith was
a professional genealogist. Friends
may call Friday, October 23 from 7-9
PM and Saturday, October 24 from 12
noon – 2 PM at the DIETRICH FUNERAL
HOME INC., 2480 Kensington Ave.,
Amherst, where the Funeral
Service
will follow at 2 PM. Online condolences  
at www.TheDietrichFuneralHome.com Oct. 30, 1932 – Sept. 21, 2015 Anita F. Smith of Amherst, a professional genealogist, died unexpectedly Sept. 21 in Germany, where she was researching her family ancestry. She was 82. Born Anita Mehl/Frommling in Union City, N.J., Mrs. Smith moved to this area in 1940 and was a graduate of Kensington High School. She worked in the accounting department of AT&T in Buffalo from 1951 to 1957. Mrs. Smith was an early member of the Western New York Genealogical Society and of the Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, headquartered in Minnesota. For more than 40 years, she volunteered at the Family History-Genealogy Center in Amherst, sponsored by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mrs. Smith, who was fluent in German and Latin, and ancient German script, was camping in a resort northwest of Hannover, Germany, when she died. After 40 years of research, she had been able to trace her family’s ancestry back to the year 900. An accomplished musician, she played the Hawaiian guitar in her younger years, performing in Wurlitzer School of Music Concerts at Kleinhans Music Hall from 1947 to 1951. While in high school, she was very active in synchronized swimming, and was succeeded in the sport by her two daughters and two of her granddaughters. She was one of the first women to serve as a softball coach in Mel Ott Little League. Mrs. Smith loved nature, and she and her family had frequently camped throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe for almost 60 years. She was a member of the Samcoe Safari Trailer Club and of a local chapter of the National Campers & Hikers Association. Her husband, William F., died in 2000. Survivors include a son, William F. II; two daughters, Maryann Marzo and Anita McCabe; and five grandchildren.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dietrich Funeral Home, 2480 Kensington Ave., Amherst.