Jan Elaine Land Smith

Jan Elaine Land Smith, passionate educator, bookseller, devoted mother, grandmother and friend, 68, of Cornelius, NC passed away on Tuesday, August 20th 2013, surrounded by loving family and friends after a dignified battle with cancer. Born May 8, 1945 to William and Katie Land of Alexander County NC, Smith grew up in Taylorsville, where she graduated high school and earned her bachelor's degree from East Carolina University. Upon completing her studies, she began a dedicated career in teaching at the Alexander County Head Start program, and subsequently taught at Charlotte, Spindale and Mooresville City Schools where she was also named Teacher of the Year. An avid reader with a passion and commitment to children, Smith was also the proprietor of 'Moontree Children's Books' in Mooresville in the 1980s, where she worked to bring a new approach to book retailing in the area. Smith loved to travel, and spent many vacations at the beaches of North Carolina, and in recent years went international, spending a memorable season with her son and family in Switzerland, as well as visiting Scotland with friends and sister, Pat a country which she shares an ancestral heritage, and last year enthusiastically served as copy editor for the new book Scots Who Enlightened the World. Smith is survived by her brother Jim Land (Alice) of Taylorsville, sisters Patricia L. Belk of Cornelius, Sandra L. Fulton (Donovan) of Taylorsville; her son Andrew Montgomery Smith (Anna Marie) and daughter Magnolia of Wilson; daughter Anna Claire Douglas Smith Blake (Kenny) and children Kennedy, Tanner, Mackenzie, Payton, Tristan & Abigail of Concord; along with loving nieces, nephews, cousins, dear friends, coworkers, students and Yorkshire Terrier, Tess. Services will be held on Sunday, August 25th at Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home, 16901 Old Statesville Rd, Huntersville NC 28078. The family will receive from 2pm, with a memorial service at 4pm. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to: The Children's Home Society of North Carolina, www.chsnc.org