In Memory

Margaret 'Peg' Lorenz (Smith) - Class Of 1942

Margaret 'Peg' Lorenz (Smith)

Margaret 'Peg' Smith (July 20, 1924 - December 28, 2019) left us peacefully in the morning. With her warm and loyal heart, her generosity, and her vivacious spirit, she will always be a guide and inspiration to the family and friends she leaves behind. Predeceased by her siblings, husband Mac Smith (1979), and beloved daughter Heather Doerksen (2004), she is dearly missed by her two daughters, eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, her extended family, and many friends.

Peg earned her BA from UC Berkeley in 1945, after which she married Ron Burnside and emigrated to his native Australia, where daughters Barbara and Susan were born. In 1951 they returned to California, where Heather was born. Peg moved to Aptos in 1959 and lived in Santa Cruz County for the rest of her life. She was a teacher and principal for more than 25 years, working with special needs children. In 1971 she earned her MA in Education and was later certified as a Marriage and Family Counselor.

In 1969 she married Mac Smith and they shared a happy life together until his death in 1979. She traveled to the USSR with her dear companion, Al Davis, 19 times between 1983 and 1998, promoting peace through friendships between ordinary US and Soviet citizens. During that period, she worked to help bring ALANON to Russia. Peg was an enthusiastic swimmer and tennis player into her late 80s, and spent many active and happy days at Pinecrest Lake, California.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 7, 2020