Cynthia A. (Cromack) Smith

Cynthia A. “Cindy” (Cromack) Smith, 65, passed away at home surrounded by her family on Thursday, October 24, after a three-year battle with cancer. She will be dearly missed by her entire family: her beloved husband of 38 years, Allan Smith; son Nathan and his wife Marjorie “Maggie” (Shearer), and their two sons Rhett and Garth, of Colrain; and daughter Jennifer Smith and her partner Stephen Fernie, of Arlington, VA. She is also survived by her in-laws Carolyn and John Smith of Limington, ME; her siblings Debra and Charles Washer of Shelburne, Weston and Karen Cromack of Bremerton, WA, Lisa and Norman Davenport of Shelburne, and Brenda and James Gallagher of Okeechobee, FL; her brother- and sister-in-law Harold Smith and Pamela Adlersmith of Marlboro, VT; many cherished aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and friends; and her dog, Elsa.
Cindy was born on October 29, 1953 to the late Catherine (Burrington) and Bruce Cromack of Heath. Her father was in North Africa serving in the Navy Seabees when she was born and surprised the family when he arrived home two weeks later. The oldest of five children, Cindy grew up in Colrain and Heath and graduated from Mohawk Trail Regional High School in 1972. While she wasn’t athletically inclined herself, she nevertheless received varsity letters for managing the field hockey, softball, and volleyball teams at Mohawk.
After graduating, Cindy attended Weaver Airline Personnel School in Missouri and then spent several years working as a travel agent in Fort Wayne, IN, before returning to Franklin County to earn her Associates degree in Accounting from Greenfield Community College. In December 1979 Cindy met Allan and they married on August 8, 1981 in Heath.
Allan and Cindy moved to Shelburne and had a son, Nathan, in January 1985, and a daughter, Jennifer, in August 1988. In 1992 they moved into the home they built together on the top of a hill in Shelburne, where they raised their family and where Cindy passed away last week. Cindy loved the view from the house, where she could see landmarks from Mt. Monadnock to UMass and beyond.
Cindy returned to night school in the 1990s and earned a Bachelor’s degree from North Adams State College while working full time and raising two kids. She worked most of her career in accounting, including at Bement School, Bete Fog Nozzle, and Heat Fab, Inc. In 2000, she started her own company providing accounting and business services primarily to farmers in the Connecticut River valley. She helped her husband Allan start Field Services, an agricultural services company, in 2006, and Atlantic Golf and Turf, a lawncare, golf, and sportsturf supply company, in 2009. Then in 2014, along with Nathan, Maggie, and Allan, Cindy established Handy Lane Farm in Colrain, producing grass-fed beef, firewood, and hay products. Nathan and Maggie live there with their boys and tend to the day to day farm operations. She continued to work at all four companies until her retirement in 2017.
2015 brought one of the greatest joys of her life: the birth of her first grandson, Rhett, to Nathan and Maggie. Their second son, Garth, was born in 2018, and Cindy treasured every moment she spent with her grandsons. She also delighted in sharing her lifelong devotion to the Red Sox and Patriots with the newest generation of the family.
Cindy was deeply committed to community service and believed in giving back wherever she could. She served more than 10 years on the Shelburne School Committee, was a frequent volunteer for her kids’ Scout troop events, led Shelburne’s Magic Thimblers 4-H Club for more than 20 years, held numerous roles at the First Congregational Church of Shelburne, and judged in local fairs, including the Franklin County Fair. 4-H, in particular, was near and dear to her heart.
Her other great passion was quilting. Over the years, Cindy made scores of quilts for friends, family, and fun, and taught dozens of adults and young people--including her own children and nieces and nephews--to love sewing. She was a frequent exhibitor at local fairs, and earned several ribbons at the Bennington and Vermont quilt festivals.
To honor her memory and dedication to sharing the love of sewing and quilting with young people, Cindy’s family has established a fund to support the mission of 4-H: A Stitch from the Heart: Cynthia Ann Smith Memorial Fund. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a gift to this fund by mailing a check to the fund at Greenfield Savings Bank, 282 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA 01376.
Visiting hours will be from 5 to 8 PM on Friday, November 1 at Smith Kelleher Funeral Home in Shelburne Falls and a celebration of life will be held at the First Congregational Church of Shelburne at 10 AM on Saturday, November 2.
The family would like to thank Hospice of Franklin County and the dedicated medical staff of UMass Memorial Health Care Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and Baystate Medical Center.

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