Mercedes "Sis" Smith

Mercedes "Sis" Maria Orcasitas de las Padilla Smith
Known to her friends as Sis, Mercedes was born in Philadelphia, PA and raised in Ohio by her father Dr. Alfonzo Maria Padilla and her mother Emily Fowler. She married Lt. Col. Al J. G. Smith in 1942 and for several years they traveled where the air force sent them--countries such as France and Japan. In the winter she warmed her children's underwear in the oven, and in spring she invited gypsy garbage pickers into her home for tea.
Her kids were the greatest joy in her life, and the loss of her son Philip, a helicopter pilot KiA in VietNam, devastated her. After her husband's retirement she and Al spent several more years traveling before following their daughter Alexis up to Montana in the 80's.
Sis was passionate about literature, especially anything related to English history and royal English lineage. As devoted as she was to family, Sis hated cooking. Her perfect house would have an indoor swimming pool and no kitchen. She had two ways of saying what she wanted to say: with a bold and genuine expression of pure love, or with the needling sarcasm of a master crafter of wit and laughter.
She adored chocolate, ice cream sundaes, and eclairs, red wine, card games, and her electric blanket (even in summertime). An adept sleeper, Sis was able to snooze for up to 12 hours at a time. This art was a joy and a panacea. Whenever she was sick she'd go to bed and stay there until her body had vanquished the disease: a cure that worked on everything from headaches to colds to strokes. Her last words were both a joke and a riddle. "Why am I sleeping?" she said, and then went back to bed.
Ushering her into Elysium are her daughter Alexis Wagner and son-in-law Steven James Wilcox, who took care of her in her twilight years, and her grandson Joshua Philip Wagner, who was her partner in mischief. It's more than likely the gods won't be prepared to handle her.
Sis was an exquisite host and a devoted mother and grandmother. She was as sly and classy as they come. Her family will never be the same without her.