Mary A. (Smith) Fichtner
Jan. 25, 2013


Mrs. Mary A. (Smith) Fichtner, 71, of Wilkes-Barre Township, passed into Eternal Life Friday afternoon at her residence, surrounded by her loving family, following a prolonged illness.

Born Jan. 27, 1941, in Wilkes-Barre, she was a daughter of the late Joseph and Helen (Bagley) Smith. Educated in the city schools, she was a graduate of the E.L. Meyers Memorial High School, Wilkes-Barre.

Mrs. Fichtner was a member of the Albright United Methodist Church, Wilkes-Barre, where she served as a member of the church choir and superintendent of the congregation's Sunday school, as well as working on several other church committees.

Mrs. Fichtner was an Air Force wife, having traveled with her late husband and family to various U.S. Air Force bases throughout the United States for more than 20 years.

Until her retirement, she had been employed by the Wyoming Valley Health Care System, working in the admissions department business office at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, as well as the Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion for several years.

In addition to her beloved husband, Mr. Theodore F. Fichtner, who passed on Dec. 19, 2007, she was preceded in death by sisters, Katherine Myers and Florence Garnett.

Surviving, are her loving daughters and their families, including Cheryl Kemmerer and her husband, Don, Wilkes-Barre; Linda Solt, with whom she resided, of Wilkes-Barre Township; Patti Jantz and her husband, Tom, Wilkes-Barre; Mary Beth Mattei and her husband, Dominick, Wilkes-Barre Township; grandchildren, Erik Kemmerer, Kierra Nee and her fiancé, Keith Gilmore, Lauren Nee, Jarrod Nee, Ryan Solt, Kennady Solt, Brittany Jantz and Dominick Mattei. Great-grandchildren, Aiden and Addison Gilmore and Gavin Nee; sisters, Ruth Klein of Wilkes-Barre and Marion Ogin of Plymouth; several nieces and nephews.

Mary Alice's family expresses their deepest gratitude to the leadership, management and nurses from Hospice of the Sacred Heart for their kind, professional and compassionate care shown to their mother in her final days. They also give special thanks to Judy Loeffler, RN, Julie Falteich, SW, and Deacon Pat Massino.

Funeral services for Mrs. Fichtner will be conducted on Tuesday at 9 a.m. from the North Wilkes-Barre location of the John V. Morris Family Funeral Homes, Wilkes-Barre. The Rev. Dr. Paul C. Amara, pastor of Central United Methodist Church, Wilkes-Barre, will officiate.

Interment with Rites of Committal will be next to her husband in the family lot of Albert Cemetery, Albert, Wright Township.

Relatives and friends may join her daughters and family for visitation and remembrances Monday from 5 until 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Published in Times Leader on January 27, 2013.