Grace Mantel Smith
Grace Mantel Smith was born in the then American colony of The Phillipines in Baguio in 1920, while her father, Louis William Mantel, a Spanish American War and World War 1 hero, was constructing the road to Baguio among the rice terraces, an engineering marvel. Her family later moved to Alice, Texas but at the age of 8 she suffered the untimely demise of her father. Along with her sisters, Laura and Mary Jo, she was raised by her mother, Laura Bomberger Mantel, in the height of the Great Depression. She loved to travel and after World War II became an executive secretary for Aramco in Saudi Arabia. Grace met the love of her life there and was married in Cairo, Egypt to Cornelius Cole Smith, Jr. who later became a PhD. at Claremont College, financed by their grand prize winnings on the Graucho Marx Show. As the devoted wife of an architect, author, artist, historian, museum curator, and Marine colonel, she was living proof that behind every successful man there is a woman. Grace enjoyed serving as a docent at the Mission Inn and the museum located at March Air Force Base. She also helped procure water allocations for the Evergreen Cemetery, where she will be interred beside her late husband of 55 years. Her Congressional Medal of Honor recipient father-in-law is also interred there. Grace is survived by her younger sister, Laura Louise Elley, nephews Gregory Mantel Elley and Bradley Paul Elley, and grand-nephews Derek MacDonald Elley and Jackson Cole Elley. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 25, 2016, at All Saints Episcopal Church, 3847 Terracina Dr, Riverside. Arlington Mortuary, Directors (800) 275-4648