ALFRED- Patricia Annaclette Smith was born in Brunswick, Maine October 8, 1942 to Donald and Mary Smith. After WWII, her family settled in Portland, where she was graduated from Deering High School in 1960. In 1963, Pat traveled to California to attend the ArtCenter School. Although Pat returned home after only two semesters, she never left the skills she learned and her artistic talent behind. Pat continued to work in Maine as a management trainee in the Systems & Programming Department of Canal Bank. Ahead of her time, Pat was one of the only females to hold this position and forge a path in the burgeoning field of information technology and programming. She progressed onto Data Processing at Canal Bank and later, at Blue Cross & Blue Shield, became Assistant Manager of Purchased Systems. Beyond her groundbreaking work in her career, Pat was well known as an artist and naturalist.
Pat frequently roamed the forests of Southern Maine with her camera in tow, taking photographs of local flora and fauna, journaling and cataloging her research, which is now held at the Three Rivers Land Trust. She was an active member of the Three Rivers Land Trust, the Josselyn Botanical Society, and the Maine Audubon Society. Pat also illustrated many wildlife pamphlets for Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Birds, plants, and flowers were often the subject of her artwork, most beautifully depicted in the scratchboard medium that she mastered in her lifetime.
A active member of her community, Pat served as the Alfred Treasurer and was a member of the Maine Women in the Arts, as well as the Art Guild of the Kennebunks. She was an avid reader, gardener, genealogist, and cat lover who gave back to her community through her art and passion for the natural world. Her green thumb, artistic vision and sure-headed spirit will forever be remembered.
Pat’s Celebration of Life will take place at 11am on April 19, 2025, at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, 57 Gravelly Brook Road, Kennebunkport. All community members who would like to honor her life are welcome to attend. Please bring flowers in her memory.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Poitras Funeral Homes, www.mainefuneral.com