Gloria M. Smith

SMITH - Gloria Miligi, age 87, loving wife of the late Wesley Lott Smith and the late Charles K Nostrand, loving Mother of Tracey and Don McCauley, Kimberly Hysni, Dana Smith, Westey and Frank Mandriota. Sensational Grandmother of Krystie McCauley Inman, Brooke McCauley Bowmar, Brittney McCauley Wichard, Blake Hysni Fechser, Brittany and Tiele Hysni, Alexandria and Gabriella Mandriota. Adoring Great Grandmother of 6 ½ great grandchildren. Surrogate mother of 100+ grown "kids" from her extended family the Huntington Thunderers. Gloria Smith was a fearless dynamo, born in Freeport NY. She swam in the Jones Beach Water Ballet and graduated from Syracuse University where she was the featured Baton twirler and fire baton twirler with the Syracuse Marching Band. She married Wesley L. Smith of Baldwin, who was a Jones Beach Lifeguard and played football at Syracuse. Gloria was an elementary school teacher in Merrick and started teaching baton twirling in the late 1950s. She taught twirling for many years at St Pat's School in Huntington and had students from all over LI. In 1964, she founded and became Director of the Huntington Thunderers, a champion Musical Corps Marching Band with baton twirlers and a band with a unique jazzy sound playing Cole Porter tunes and big band songs, arranged by the late Clem DeRosa and Ray Wilson. The Thunderers won multiple Grand National Championships and World Show Corp championship and Gloria's twirling teams and solo students excelled, winning many National awards throughout the years. The Thunderers marched in 4 consecutive NY Macys Day parades, the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, and were invited to France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the US Virgin islands to perform and represent the United States and the youth of America. The Thunderers recorded an album in 1970, Artistry In Swing, with songs like St Louis Blues, April In Paris, Girl From Ipanema and Watermelon Man, performed by the talented Thunderers musicians 18yrs and younger. The Thunderers had a Junior Corps as well who also won the Grand National Champions title and performed in the USVI for Carnival in 1972. In 1978, Gloria co-wrote The Complete Book of Baton Twirling with longtime friend and competitor Fred Miller, Director of Millers Blackhawks in Ohio. In 1973, Gloria expanded her talents and opened the wonderful Yankee Peddler Antiques and Workshop in Huntington Station NY, an antique emporium with over 20 dealers on 3 floors, offering furniture stripping and refinishing – and the "best stripper in town!". In 1979, Gloria and her husband Wes bought and restored a spectacular historic waterfront home on Huntington Harbor, East Point, that she successfully marketed as a spectacular Location spot for print ads, commercials and movies, such as Dogs of War with Christopher Walken and JoBeth Williams, a Debbie Gibson music video, the movie Empire with Isabella Rossellini and John Leguizamo, Central Park West TV show, Italian and French Vogue and Elle magazines, plus many celebrities such as Howie Long in his Hanes Underwear, Lena Horn, Steve Allen, top NFL players, and James Earl Jones who “let his fingers do the walking”, to mention a few. Gloria Smith, loving wife, mother, friend, teacher, mentor, and devoted director of the Huntington Thunderers touched and influenced the lives of so many children and families. She did so with kindness, selfless devotion, unconditional love, positive inspiration, enthusiasm, perseverance, and her all-consuming belief that all children are wonderful, can soar to greatness and achieve things they never dreamed possible. Gloria, loved and admired by so many, continues to have a vast and loyal extended family of those she touched, as she led her life of success and exceptional achievement with the following beliefs and practices: The greatest virtue is Kindness! Be enthusiastic! Think positively! Try Passionately! Be Vulnerable! Be a Risk Taker! Smile - it pays big dividends! Trust in God! Be generous of yourself and help others whenever you can! We are all heartbroken and grieving the loss of our spectacular, fun, crazy, talented, loving and always positive Gloria Smith! Gloria, our Gogo, our Mom - you live on in our hearts forever. We love you and miss you so.

Gloria M. Smith

February 1, 1926 - June 6, 2013