Marion Smith

Marion Jean Smith (nee McCoy), 81, died in Eagle Grove Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016. The Funeral Mass was offered by her son, Fr. Scott Archer, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Eagle Grove Thursday, March 31, with burial in Rose Hill Cemetery in Eagle Grove.
Marion was born December 3, 1934 in Des Moines, the daughter of the late Carl H. McCoy and the late Bessie H. McCoy (nee Burgin). She grew up in Des Moines and graduated from high school in 1952. She was employed as a secretary for Northwestern Bell in Des Moines from 1952 until 1956.
She married Robert G. Jacobson November 4, 1956 in Des Moines. Before moving to Eagle Grove in 1960, they lived in Charles City and Mason City. Marion and Robert had three boys, Bruce, Mark and Scott. Robert died unexpectedly at home from a massive heart attack in 1980 and is buried in the Eagle Grove Cemetery with honors from serving as a Radio Operator in the military. His ship was once hit, but they slowly made it back to port.
In 1986, she married Gilbert H. Smith in Eagle Grove and resided in the same home Marion and Bob were living in previously. Marion was taking care of their three boys, Bruce (Jacobson) Archer, recently deceased Mark Jacobson, and Father Scott (Jacobson) Archer, who is serving two churches in Illinois. Marion became a Catholic in 2015.
Marion fostered a love of the visual arts from an early age. She participated in many juried exhibitions and competitions, visited art museums throughout the United States and Great Britain, had her works displayed in various galleries and museums, and received numerous awards for her art over the years. Some of her paintings now reside in the permanent collections of Iowa State University in Ames, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, and the Blanden Memorial Art Museum in Fort Dodge.
Surviving are her husband, Gilbert H. Smith of Eagle Grove; her son, Bruce A. J. (Liesa K. Thill) Archer of Baxter, MN; her son, Fr. Scott L. Archer of Fairbury, IL; her sister, Charlien J. (Wayne E.) Bonser of Oceanside, CA; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Vicki (Jacobson) Moe and family of Cedar Falls and Kathy (Jacobson) Wiedner and family of Waukon; nieces and nephews; and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband; and her son, Mark S. Jacobson.