Person Page - 745

Twin Falls, Idaho - Lorayne Orton Smith was born March 27, 1925, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the daughter of Herbert O. and Daisy Cooley Orton. She passed away Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A 1943 graduate of Tech High School in St. Cloud, she attended Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, later taking college courses from Idaho State University in Pocatello. On June 30, 1946, she was married to Vernon E. Smith in the Twin Falls First United Methodist Church. She had come to Twin Falls in 1945 to work for the Times-News. She was an active church member, serving as superintendent of the Junior High Department from 1954 to 1957; general church school superintendent, 1959 to 1961; organized and taught a young adult class, was chairman of Circle 1948 to 1949 and served as president of the Wesleyan Service Guild, the former UMC group for employed women, in 1954 to 55. She and her husband were youth group leaders in 1966 to 1967. After retiring, she served as visitation coordinator for five years, later was chair of the board of trustees and the Council on Ministries. From 1994 to 1998, she taught an adult Bible class. She chaired the evangelism committee and supervised some 25 volunteer church callers. She has belonged to the League of Women Voters since it began in Twin Falls in 1947, helping in the League effort to obtain the city manager form of government here in 1949, taking her two oldest boys then in strollers out to obtain petitions for the election (Oct. 18, 1949). She was local League president in 1953, then served on the state board. She also was chair of the local League MAL unit from 1992 to 2004. She was a den mother for Methodist Cub Scout Pack 67, publicity chairman for the Twin Falls County unit of the American Cancer Society for many years and a past member of the National Letter Carriers Auxiliary. She played in the Magic Valley Symphony from its formation in 1959 until 2002 and also played in the pit orchestra for many Dilettante productions. She was active in the Twin Falls County and State Mental Health Association, serving as local chapter president in 1977. In 1978, she became secretary of the Port of Hope Alcoholic Treatment Center Board, serving for 21 years. She also is a past board member of the Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services and volunteered with her husband at the Buzz Langdon Tourist Center from its inception in 1989 until 2004. In 1958, she returned to work at the Times-News, serving as regional or Magic Valley editor for 12 years, then both writing and editing. She was North Side reporter for several years in the mid-1970s, covering Gooding, Wendell and Buhl areas. Later, she was lifestyle editor and feature writer and, for nearly nine years, did weekly interviews with senior citizens under a column called "The Elders." After retiring in 1989 after 31 years at the paper, she published a book, "Zest for Living," a compilation of some 40 of the many interviews she had done for The Elders feature. In 1993, she was named Idaho Mother of the Year by American Mothers Inc. and then served as state president of the Idaho AMI from 1994 to 1996 and later on the national board. She was coordinator for the local AMI chapter for several years and, since 1995, has managed the AMI baby quilt project locally, distributing more than 3,000 quilts made by volunteers to local helping agencies. In 1997, she went on the Magic Valley Habitat for Humanity Board, serving as nurturing chair, later vice president and president. She led a Bible class at Bridgeview Estates from 1997 to 2001; She also was involved in the Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, visiting elderly women for many years, and completed Stephen Ministry training at the Methodist Church in 2000.
In 2002, she wrote a biographical novel, "Daisies Don't Tell," based on her mother's life on a Minnesota farm where Smith grew up. In 2006, she began volunteering at the Twin Falls County Museum. In 2008, she received the Community Service Award from the local chapter of the DAR and also won the "State Competition."
Survivors include her husband, Vernon; three sons: Herb Smith, of Aurora, IL, Bruce (Joan) Smith, of Goodyear, AZ, and Bryan (Rhonda) Smith, of Oro Valley, AZ; daughter, Cecil (Allen) Scherbinske, of Twin Falls; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
The funeral for Lorayne will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home, 2551 Kimberly Road in Twin Falls, with Pastor Dale Metzger officiating.
Interment will be held following the service at the Twin Falls Cemetery in Twin Falls. Visitation for Lorayne will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at the funeral home.³