1928 – 2014

BANGOR — Jeannette Evangeline Smith Horvath was born on April 4, 1928, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the beloved only daughter of James Martin Smith and Grace Jeannette Remy Smith.

She was raised in St. Albans, N.Y., and Tenafly and Englewood, N.J., and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, N.J., in 1945. She moved west to Washington state in 1946, to live with her brother, James and his family, and to work at the Hanford Atomic Research facility. She enrolled at Washington State University, where she met her future husband, Louis Horvath, also from New Jersey, and a student there.

An accomplished musician playing the cello, piano and harp, as well as her voice, she also was an avid reader and a delight to know. Her sense of humor and ability to find a “silver lining” was legendary.

Jeanne and Lou moved back to New Jersey to raise their family of four children, mostly in Old Bridge and East Brunswick, N.J., where she enjoyed being a homemaker. She worked as a proofreader for the Home News in New Brunswick, N.J., and for a publisher in Metuchen, N.J.

The Horvaths enjoyed many traveling and educational vacations, as Jeanne and Lou loved to travel. They visited most states and much of Canada, and spent a year-long adventure touring Europe in an RV. Always adventurous, Jeanne instilled curiosity and individuality in her children. She encouraged them to “dance to the beat of their own drum.”

She was so happy when her two daughters moved to Maine in 1979. She spent many months in each of their homes, before establishing her own home in eastern Maine. She and Lou purchased a lovely property on Copeland Hill in Holden, after his New Jersey retirement in 1986, where he built their dream home which they enjoyed for 25 years.

She joined the Heart of Maine Chorus of the Sweet Adelines, where she made longlasting friends of over 20 years. She kept up with her love of reading and fell in love with the Boston Red Sox, rarely missing a televised game. She was especially pleased when they won the World Series in November. In the fall  2012, Jeanne and Lou moved to Sunbury Village in Bangor.

An emergency surgery, compounded by other medical issues, was her eventual cause of death at Eastern Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Jan. 16.

She is survived by her husband of 65½ years, Louis; and her four children, Alexander “Sandy” Horvath and his wife, Cherie, of East Brunswick, N.J., Wendy Newmeyer and her husband, Jack, of West Paris, Robin Zinchuk and her husband, Douglas, of Bethel and Randy James of Highland Park, N.J. Also surviving are her eight grandchildren, Alivia Horvath of Los Palmos, Texas, Kira Horvath of Boulder, Colo., Justen Horvath of East Brunswick, N.J., Shonna Horvath and her fiancé, Steve Pietraczenko, of South Brunswick, N.J., Daniel Zinchuk and his wife, Jen, of Los Angeles, Calif., Brian Zinchuk and his wife, Chaelley, of Windham, Kevin Zinchuk of Boston, Mass., and Matthew Zinchuk of Bethel; as well as her darling great-grandson, Jackson Neal Zinchuk, of Windham; and several nieces and a nephew.

She was predeceased by her parents; brother, James; niece, Judy; and nephew, David.

Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com.

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