Nancy Dixon King Smith

We wish to honor the life of Nancy Dixon King Smith (née Nancy Dixon King) by sharing news of her death with friends. Fit as ever but slowed by dementia, Nancy died in Davidson on Monday, November 21, 2016. She was just six weeks shy of her 95th birthday. Born in Greensboro, NC on January 5, 1922, she was the daughter of Walter Winburne King and Nancy Dixon Howard. Her siblings included Walter King, Curtis King, and Paul King, all deceased.

She lived a life of music, receiving in 1942 a B.S. in Music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and working briefly in a choral group with Andy Griffith at Chapel Hill. She inherited her mother’s love and talents for music and taught piano to her five children as well as to many Davidson youngsters in the 1960s; yearly recitals took place in the front-room parlor of her home. For many years, she was the Choir Director at the Davidson College Presbyterian Church and at the Rehobeth United Methodist Church. She was a member of the Friends of the Arts, a namesake of the C. Shaw and Nancy K. Smith Artist Series, and a firm supporter of Davidson College. An avid listener of classical music, she surrounded her final days with music from a little radio, absorbing the soothing sounds of WDAV. She was proud of her perfect pitch and ability to create impromptu musical transitions, and she harped on the goal to make music, not simply to play the notes. As an original member of the Tuesday Club, her contributions to its events always involved music. She frequently stated, “All I want to do in retirement is to play the piano and wear perfume.”

As a mom, “consistency” was her favorite theme and word of choice. She believed that a parent should always be home to meet the returning child. She was a den mother and a seamstress of cheerleader outfits, her daughters’ attire, and magic show wardrobes. She was a loyal spectator of every child-chosen event and a promoter of summer plays for the neighborhood kids on the Smiths’ backyard stage. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was one such performance, memorable for its aspirations but forgotten for its quaint artistry. Smith girls were not allowed to say “nasty,” “stinky,” or “sweaty”; the words weren’t lady-like. Alcohol was nowhere in sight at home, and one daughter recalled Mom MIGHT have once emitted, “Damn laundry!” Cursing was taboo, but cursing inanimate objects was, presumably, more acceptable. She preened before her brood of five when she touted to other people that the first and second sons were “ten months and five days apart.” None of the children understood the meaning of that boast until late in their teens, and it added a deeper meaning when the term “baby boomer” was coined for that generation. When her first-born went off to college, she took on a Swedish exchange student, Torbjorn Hogberg, for a full year. When the mayhem of parenting overwhelmed her, she sought refuge by swimming daily.

Nancy, or “Big Momma,” married Colin Shaw Smith, “Big Daddy,” soon after World War II. He was the Director of the Davidson College Union and a magician. Starting in the late 50s, the Smith family piled into a VW bus loaded with seven people, doves, rabbits, and tricks for a two-hour magic show. They weaved their way up the mountains to Montreat, the locale where they first performed the show called C. Shaw Smith’s Saucy Sorcery. Nancy was the musician, Shaw was the prestidigitator, and the kids floated, disappeared in thin and thick air, and played musical instruments. The family show magically went on for another twelve years, expanding to university audiences across the United States and eventually to American military bases in Europe. At home or on the road, Nancy represented stability, sweetness, patience, daily devotion to family, frugality, and elegance. She could step out of the Smiths’ packed, clamorous vehicle after a week’s worth of non-air-conditioning travel and ALWAYS look pretty. In retrospect, that was the more beguiling magic than Saucy Sorcery’s, no slight to Big Daddy.

As a wife, she reflected the thought of Margaret Thatcher: “If you want someone to speak, ask a man [Big Daddy]; if you want something done, ask a woman [Big Momma].” She served as the faithful hostess of “Monday Night,” an extended-family meal on that designated evening for 30 years straight. It celebrated food, fellowship, and family memories. After circling up and hearing the blessing, family members clapped, and Nancy shouted, “You’re on yo’ own.” Often, as many as twenty people would sit down to supper. After Big Daddy died in 1992, Nancy married a childhood sweetheart, Kenneth Hardy, in 2000. He passed away the next year, but his family, Eddie and Janis Beam, became lifetime members of the Smiths’ household and Monday Night.

Nancy was a quiet but unwavering supporter of the Democratic Party, believing it best served the common good. She once chimed, “George W. Bush would make a wonderful president…of a fraternity.” She recently and proudly cast her 2016 ballot for a worthy presidential candidate.

Contributions to your special charities are highly appreciated, but Nancy Smith would also cherish a simple task from you to honor her life: Sit down, soften the ambient distractions, surround yourself with music, encircle yourself with family, friends, or mementos of them, and think about them in a warm, caring manner. The following people are especially grateful for the cherished life and enduring love of Nancy Smith:

Nancy’s children: Shaw Smith, Curtis Smith, Nancy Gardner, Graham Smith, Mary Mig McEntire.

Nancy’s daughters-in-law and son-in-law: Ann Haley, Lynne Smith, Audrey Brown, Robert McEntire.

Nancy’s grandchildren and their spouses: Jason Radcliffe, Blake and Constanza Radcliffe, Luke Smith, Tate and Amy Gardner, Tim and Beth Helfrich, Curtis Gardner, Bryan McEntire, Benjamin McEntire.

Nancy’s great grandchildren: Lucas Radcliffe, Soledad Radcliffe, Noah Gardner, Zoe Helfrich, Miles Helfrich, Cora Helfrich, Levi Helfrich.

In addition, the family wishes to express its deep gratitude for the wonderful caregivers and services of the Purcell community at The Pines in Davidson and the loving treatment of Hospice and Palliative Care Lake Norman.

The family will hold a musical celebration of Nancy’s life at 4 PM on January 7, 2017 in the C. Shaw Smith 900 Room of the Davidson College Union.