Carol A. Smith

December 5, 1935 - June 25, 2020

Carol Ann Smith, beloved mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on June 25, 2020. Born December 5, 1935 in Jersey City to Lil and “Hunk” Swerzynski, Carol, a self-professed daddy’s girl, grew up in Hoboken where she played basketball, was the first Polish Queen of the San Giacomo club, and fell in love with her husband, Howard. She moved to Hazlet in 1966 with her husband and their four children, Thomas, John, Carolyn, and Donna. Carol worked for many years at Lily Tulip, and later at 3M and Wheelock. After Howard passed away in 1973, Carol continued to work tirelessly, and to lovingly raise her children with the help of her devoted younger sister, Julia Swerzynski. Carol’s love and generosity were boundless - she opened her heart, home, and refrigerator to everyone. She never missed a birthday, game, performance, party, or event, no matter how big or small. She made the best baked ziti and gravy, gave the greatest hugs, and told a story louder and better than anyone, anywhere. Carol was the bedrock of her big, crazy family who will miss her more than words could ever say. She is predeceased by her grandson, Brian, and survived and deeply missed by her sister, Julia, her four children and their spouses, Thomas and Karen Smith, John and Patrice Smith, Carolyn and Dean Pease, and Donna and Bill Bathman, by her grandchildren, Thomas and Marykate, John and Brittany, Michael and Carly, and Lindsay and Troy, and her great-grandchildren, Shane, Connor, Ryan, Logan, and Celia. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Saint Jude Children’s Hospital.