Lorraine Smith Bothe - Obituary

atherine Lorraine Smith Bothe, a lifelong 5th-generation Annapolitan, died at the age of 84 on July 9 at Sunrise of Annapolis of Shy-Drager Syndrome and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Known to many people as “Lovely Lou”, Lorraine was born on March 25, 1927 in Annapolis to the late Charles W. Smith, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth “Bessie” Howard Smith. She attended Annapolis High School and was a 1943 graduate of Fleet’s Business School in Annapolis. During the 1940s, Lorraine was secretary to Judge James Morton. In the 1950s, she worked for Anne Arundel County’s Planning and Zoning Department at the County Courthouse in Annapolis. In the 1960s, she went to work as a secretary for J.R. McCrone, Jr. Engineering Firm where she remained for 10 years until her retirement in 1974. Lorraine was a founder and past president of the Providence Center, a workplace of the developmentally disabled, which is currently located in Arnold, MD, and a founder and past board member of Langton Green, a home for the developmentally disabled. She was also a member of the Annapolis Elks Club. Lorraine was passionate about Annapolis and all of its history. She loved her family and friends and was especially devoted to her daughter, Suzie, and to helping all those with special needs. She traveled the world with family and her 10-year companion, Joe Janos. In addition to her parents, Lorraine was preceded in death by her second husband, Edward B. Bothe, who died in 1997, two sisters: Betty West and Doris Wiseman, and her grandparents, former Annapolis Mayor Charles W. and Arabella Smith and Rufus and Catherine Rose Myers Howard. She is survived by a son, Steve Bothe of Fairfax VA; three daughters: Sharon Latham of West River, Barbara Bothe of Millsboro, DE and Suzie Muhlmeister of Annapolis; two brothers: Howard Smith of Whitsett, NC and Charles Smith of Annapolis; a sister, Ruth Ann Lane of Annapolis; one grandson, Ryan Latham of Centreville and two granddaughters: Lisa Taylor of Annapolis and Tonya L. Gustin of Virginia Beach, VA. Also survived by five great-grandchildren and her former husband, Jerry Muhlmeister. Friends are invited to Lorraine’s Life Celebration on Thursday, July 14, from 11AM until funeral service begins at 1PM at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater. Interment Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Langton Green, 316 Arundel on the Bay Road, Annapolis, MD 21403 or ARC of Anne Arundel County, 931 Spa Road, Annapolis, MD 21401.