Featured obituary: Mrs. Martha Cooper Smith

From the time she began high school in the late 1930s, Martha Cooper Smith knew she wanted to be a journalist.

Her husband, W. Stanford Smith, said that his wife began writing for The Augusta Chronicle when she was in high school.

"She wrote high school news," he said. "Johnny Battle was the city editor then, and he told her to cover high school things, and she wrote other things as well."

Mrs. Smith, 82, died Jan. 31 at the Indian River Center in Melbourne, Fla. Committal services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery.

A native of Augusta, Mrs. Smith earned a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1940. It was at the university that she met her husband. Journalism was something that the two of them had in common.

"That's all we talked about when we were in college," Mr. Smith said.

The couple married in 1942. After World War II, Mrs. Smith became the assistant women's editor for the Atlanta Constitution.

In 1953, the Smiths moved to New York. While there, Mrs. Smith covered many fashion events for The Macon Telegraph. She also wrote a book review column for several New York newspapers.

When Mr. Smith became the president of the American Newspaper Publishers Association in 1968, Mrs. Smith played a vital role linking the American press with its counterparts in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.

"We needed to get acquainted with many people in the newspaper service," Mr. Smith said. "She was with me through the whole thing, and she went with me on these various trips."

Traveling became an important part of their lives, and after Mr. Smith retired from the Army in 1979, the couple continued to take trips.

"We had owned the idea of traveling on container ships, which take a total of 12 passengers," Mr. Smith said. "We went to Australia and New Zealand. (Australia) was a long trip, but we really enjoyed those trips."

Survivors also include three daughters, Marion Hills, Elizabeth Smith and Lucinda Warnick; a sister, Mary Alice Horne; and five grandchildren.

Reach Amy Connell at (706) 823-3220 or amy.connell@augustachronicle.com.