SILVERTON — Miriam O. Smith is remembered by many admirers as a builder of families and healer of relationships.

        A social worker for five decades, she spent 29 years on the staff of Jewish Family Service of Greater Cincinnati as a therapist and coordinator of adoption and early child development.

        She also enjoyed a reputation as an excellent teacher, serving as a field adviser and adjunct instructor for the Smith College School of Social Work.

        “She was without a doubt the kindest person I ever met,” said her friend Philip G. Barach of Longboat Key, Fla. “She was also extremely professional and held in the highest regard by everyone who knew her.”

        Mrs. Smith died April 29 after being hit by a car in Montgomery 10 days earlier. The Silverton resident was 86.

        “She was widely known for her wisdom, creativity and vision, which frequently resulted in the development of new programs,” said her daughter, Deborah Blackmer of Kenwood.

        Among those programs: Services for Unmarried Mothers and Adolescents; the Alan R. Mack Parents Center; and the Early Child Development Program.

        In 1990, Jewish Family Service presented her with the Miriam H. Dettelbach Award for outstanding service. Mrs. Smith also received an outstanding service award from the Greater Cincinnati Region of the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1989 and the Woman of Distinction Award from the Great Rivers Girl Scout Council in 1999.

        From 1979 until her death, she and her daughter, also a social worker, presented mother-daughter workshops in several states and appeared on radio and TV.

        After her retirement in 1992, Mrs. Smith joined the board of directors of Jewish Family Service.

        Mrs. Smith grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and Toledo and was educated at Columbia University and UCLA, where she received a master's degree in social work.

        She was working as the social director of a USO in California during World War II when she met Judah L. Smith, her future husband, who was in the Army Air Corps.

        They moved to Cincinnati in 1963, when he entered the rabbinic program at Hebrew Union College.

        During her last 10 years, Mrs. Smith developed and conducted a “Talk Salon” among her neighbors, where important current issues were regularly discussed.

        She was preceded in death by her husband in 1966.

        In addition to her daughter, Deborah, survivors include: a son, David Smith of Rhinelander, Wis.; and a grandson. Services have been held. Burial was in Dayton.

        Memorials: Great Rivers Girl Scout Council, 4930 Cornell Road, Cincinnati 45242; or Jewish Family Service, 11223 Cornell Park Drive, Cincinnati 45242.

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