Smith, Finetta Porter (1913-1975)

SMITH, PORTER, LAUFLIN, WARGA, OTTO, HANSON, MISTLER

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 12/12/2020 at 10:52:00

Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, Iowa, Wednesday, June 4, 1975

BLAIRSBURG - Relatives here have been notified that funeral rites for Mrs. Edward (Finetta) Smith, 62, killed in a tragic auto mishap Monday at Avery, Idaho will be held tentatively on Saturday at Minneapolis with burial to be made in the Blairsburg cemetery.

Both the Rev. and Mrs. Edward Smith, former Blairsburg residents, lost their lives when their car plunged off a highway and into the nearby St. Joe River. Their names were incorrectly listed in an earlier report of the tragedy as Mr. and Mrs. Everett Smith.

A daughter, Brenda, 25 riding with her parents, escaped from the sinking auto and swam to safety.

The body of the Rev. Mr. Smith, 64, had not been located by this morning.

Mr. Smith was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Seward Smith of Blairsburg and was reared and educated in this community. He was the pastor of a church in the Avery, Idaho community.

Surviving are five other children in addition to Brenda; three brothers, including Everett Smith of Blairsburg, and two sisters.

DAILY FREEMAN JOURNAL, Webster City, Iowa, Friday, June 6, 1975

Funeral services for Mrs. Edward Smith, 62, will be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Baptist church in Minneapolis.

Mrs. Smith lost her life Monday in an automobile accident at Avery, Idaho when the car in which her husband, 64, and a daughter were riding plunged into the St. Joe River.

Graveside services for Mrs. Smith will be Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Blairsburg cemetery.

Survivors include five daughters and one son: Mrs. Harley (Merilyn) Lauflin, a missionary in Brazil, Mrs. Eddie (Joan) Wargo of Holding Ford, Minn., Mrs. Paul (Lois) Otto of Hollywood, Fla., Mrs. Gordon (Joyce) Hanson of Shoreview, Minn., and Brenda Smith Mistler of Avery, Idaho and John S. Smith of Burnsville, Minn., nine grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and two brothers, Herbert Porter and Lyle Porter of Fort Dodge.

The body of the Rev. Mr. Edward Smith has still not been recovered from the river. Brenda Smith Mistler, riding with her parents, managed to swim to safety from the submerging auto.