Suzanne Currelly Hamilton of Wilmington, DE passed away Thursday, February 3, 2005, while residing at Kendal at Longwood in Kennett Square, PA.

Suzanne was born in Toronto, CN.

She moved to New York City, NY with her husband, Paul B. Hamilton, and their family relocated to Wilmington in 1946.

Suzanne received her master's degree from the University of Delaware and began a long career at Winterthur Museum that spanned nearly 5 decades.

Suzanne pursued a special interest in rugs that led her to teach rug looming and in connection with her wide travels, she collected rugs from around the world.

Suzanne opened her home to numerous students from Winterthur in support of their ongoing studies at the museum.

Her 3 sons survive her - Paul, residing in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CN, John and his wife, Nancy, residing in Atlanta, GA, and Rafe and his wife, Debbie, of Wilmington.

In addition, Suzanne's sons gave her 5 grandchildren - Paul's 2 daughters, Barbra and Elissa, who reside in CN, John's daughter, Lisa, in New York City, NY and his son, Brett with his wife, Becky and their 2 children, Ansley Rose and Rafe in Lexington, KY, and Rafe's daughter, Andrea and her husband, Coyle, and their 2 children, Kendall and Aidan in Avalon, NJ.

The Currelly family continues in resident in Port Hope, Ontario, CN, where Suzanne has many nieces and nephews including Chris Currelly, who very often visited Suzanne in Wilmington.

The family offers a special thank you to the dedicated and gentle staff at Kendal who cared for Suzanne.

A memorial service to celebrate Suzanne's life will be held on Saturday, February 19, 2005, at 2 pm at Kendal.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Kendal Resident Reserve Fund, 1109 E. Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, PA 19348.

Arrangements by DOHERTY FUNERAL HOMES To send condolences, visit www.dohertyfh.com 302-652-6811

[published in The News Journal 02/09/2005]

Pamela Porterfield Smith Age 63, of West Chester, PA died Tuesday, February 8th, at Chester County Hospital after a short illness.

She was the wife of A. Roy Smith, with whom she had recently celebrated 40 years of marriage. Pam was born in Houston, TX and moved to Evanston, IL as a child and then to White Plains, NY where she attended high school, graduating with honors from White Plains High School in 1959. She attended Denison University in Granville, OH where she graduated in 1963 with honors with a BA in English. Pam's professional career began at Rishel Junior High School in Denver, CO. After her first year, she decided to pursue a masters degree at the University of North Carolina; however, she met Roy the summer of 1964 while staying with her parents in Hendersonville, NC and they were married that December. She continued her teaching career, first at West Henderson High School, followed by Onondoga Central High School in Nedrow, NY. Freehold High School in Freehold, NJ and finally at Alexis I. DuPont High School in Wilmington, DE.

In 1980 Pam retired from teaching, obtained a paralegal degree, and became a part owner in a local Wilmington bookstore. She was a volunteer in a reading program and briefly served on the Board of Directors of the Christina Cultural Arts Center. One special volunteer activity that Pam truly enjoyed was graciously offering her home to house out-of-town actors performing at the Delaware Theatre Company, for which she and Roy were awarded a commendation from the Wilmington Arts Commission. In 1981, Pam began a long and rewarding association with Winterthur Museum where she worked in the education division, on program development and as a tour guide. She developed a keen interest in American decorative arts, and became a sought after and highly respected tour guide. She was particularly fond of early American silver and Pennsylvania German folk art and culture. Pam had the unique capacity to impart information to her visitors in an unassuming fashion, listening to her guests and responding according to their interests.

While at Winterthur, Pam became fascinated with ceramics, especially glassware. Her interest in glass encouraged her to take instruction in glassblowing, and would sit for hours watching glass artisans at work. Modest though she was, some her prized possessions were those glass pieces she created herself.

After moving to West Chester in 1988, Pam became a volunteer at the Chester County Historical Society, working on several antiques shows and guiding visitors through exhibits. She also became a valued volunteer at Safe Harbor of Greater West Chester, cooking and serving meals and working evenings in the office.

In addition to her husband, Pam is survived by her brother, Dennis Porterfield and his wife Wendy of HoHoKus, NJ, sisters-in-law Jean Gravely, Doris Monaco and Carole Sanders of Union Springs, NY and Wendy Porterfield of Rye, NY and several nieces and nephews.

Those who knew Pam best recognized she was a very personally private person. In respect of that privacy there will be no funeral or memorial service. An informal gathering of friends, neighbors and associates will be held later. Donations in Pam's name may be made to Safe Harbor of Greater West Chester, Inc., 20 N. Matlack Street, West Chester, PA 19380.

Arrangements by Founds Funeral Home, Inc., West Chester, PA [published in The News Journal 02/11/2005]