Fawn Evelyn (Samson) Smith, 91, of Pender, NE passed away on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at the Pender Community Hospital in Pender. The visitation will be held on Monday, September 19, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Munderloh-Smith Funeral Home in Pender. The funeral will be on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in rural Pender, with Pastor Karen McNeill-Utecht officiating. A private family burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery in Pender. Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. Arrangements are under the direction of Munderloh-Smith Funeral Home in Pender.
Fawn was born on January 3, 1931, to Kenneth and Phyllis (Blair) Samson, near Rosalie in her grandparents’ home. She attended and graduated from Bancroft High School in 1948. On August 1, 1948, Fawn married Layton J. Smith, at the Rosalie Methodist Church in Rosalie. Together the couple farmed south of Pender and started their family together. She entered the Lutheran faith and became an active member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Pender.
Fawn had many hobbies, she enjoyed baking and cooking for her family, sewing clothes for herself and her daughter, playing bridge, painting portraits and landscapes, and traveling the world with friends. She stayed active in the church and was a member of the St. Mark’s Ladies Church Circle. Fawn was an avid Husker fan. She enjoyed watching her grandchildren grow up and attended all their activities. Fawn loved shopping and was always dressed very classy and loved to wear jewelry. For several years, Thursdays were for shopping!
Fawn is survived by her husband of 74 years, Layton Smith of Pender; daughter, Nancy (Bob) Beckman of Pender; son, Steven (Jill) Smith of Pender; grandchildren, Ryan (Christy) Beckman of Ashland, NE, Eric (Dana) Beckman of Pender, Sara (Phil) Sorensen of Dakota Dunes, SD, Tony (Mackenzie) Smith of Pender; 8 great-grandchildren; sisters, Marcille Thomas of Wayne, Jane (Ron) Olds of Lincoln; stepsisters, Judy Peters of South Sioux City, Carla (John) Watson of Lincoln; stepbrother-in-law, Budd Bornhoft of Albuquerque, NM.
Fawn is preceded in death by her parents; sister, Gloria Samson; stepsister, Carolyn Bornhoft; brother-in-law, Jimmy Thomas; stepbrother-in-law, Clifford Peters.
