Maureen M. Smith, 90 of South Windsor, CT and formerly of Greenwich, CT passed away peacefully on April 18, 2021.
She was born in Greenwich, a daughter of the late James F. and Mary Ellen (Towey) Smith and was a lifelong resident of Greenwich until she moved to Ellington in 2020 to be close to her family. She was a graduate of Greenwich High School, class of 1947, where she received the Women’s Club of Greenwich, Prize for Excellence and graduated with honors. She continued her education and was a graduate of Central Connecticut University Class of 1951 where she was elected Vice President of the Student Body and graduated with honors. She was also a graduate of the New England School of Banking at The Bank Administration Institute School for Bank Audit and Control Operations of The University of Wisconsin and the Commercial Bank Management Program of the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University.
Maureen was awarded Woman of The Year 1975 in Banking by the United Nations Association of Greenwich and received Woman of the Year in Finance by Connecticut Magazine. During her 36-year tenure, some of her achievements set precedents, as in 1969 when Maureen became the first woman to be elected to a senior vice presidency at a Connecticut commercial bank. Another first was when Maureen was appointed to the Regional Advisory Committee (of the first national region) to the Comptroller of the Currency in 1972. Maureen went on to serve as that committee’s chairperson the following year and was subsequently appointed to the prestigious National Advisory Committee of Bank Policies and Practices to the comptroller of the Currency in 1974. She was selected as Outstanding Business Woman by the Greenwich Chapter of the United Nations Association in 1975, four years later, she was again in the vanguard with the formation of State National Bancorp (which subsequently merged with CBT) having been elected Bancorp’s vice president, secretary, treasurer and chief financial officer. Ms. Smith retired in 1988 as Senior Vice President of Connecticut Bank & Trust Co. She served as manager of Stamford Office of Investment Group.
In her lifetime Maureen gave freely of her time, as Treasurer of Community Concerts of Greenwich, member of the Board of Directors of Utilizer Senior Energy (USE), Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Greenwich High School Student Loan Fund, member of the Women’s Club of Greenwich, member of the Board of Directors of Women’s Club and Program Chair and the Chairman of Investment Committee of Women’s Club of Greenwich. After her retirement Maureen became active in Duplicate Bridge. As a member of ACBL, she attained the rank of Life Master and Bronze Life Master. As a regular player at Steve Becker’s bridge games at the Greenwich YWCA, she was known as the “Lady at Table One” and was also known as the “chuckler.” Maureen traveled extensively through Europe, Africa, Iran, Australia and New Zealand.
She is survived by her nephew Robert J. Evaristo and his wife Suzanne of Tolland and her niece Elizabeth Salerno Bieri and her husband Rob of South Windsor, great-nephews and nieces Shauna Powell and her husband Brian, Kyle Evaristo and his wife Amanda, Sarah Salerno, Brian Salerno, great-great-nieces and nephews, Ava, Brady and Mia Powell, Isabella, and Alexander Salerno and Lillian, Harrison and Samuel Evaristo and her beloved cousins Deirdre and Peter Olesky. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister Eileen Smith Evaristo and her husband Larry and her brother James Towey Smith.
Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Saturday, April 24, 2021 at St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Riverside, CT. A Christian burial will immediately follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Greenwich, CT.
