Mary Jeanne Franke Smith, 67, a former Tribune staff writer, died of breast cancer Saturday in her home in Maryland.
A journalist for more than 40 years, Mrs. Smith dreamed of becoming a reporter for the Tribune from the age of 10. She graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in journalism and served as editor in chief of the Indiana Daily Student.
She later received a master’s degree in English from Salisbury State.
In 1957, Mrs. Smith was hired as a general assignment reporter for the Tribune, where she covered local government agencies. In 1960, she posed as a waitress to write a series of stories on the workaday world of the restaurant business. She continued as a free-lance reporter into the 1970s and edited a household letters column for the Tribune.
“Journalism was her life,” said her son, Arthur Smith.
Mrs. Smith began her journalism career in 1951 at the Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette. She then moved on to the Tribune, where she worked until 1965.
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In 1983, Mrs. Smith moved to Washington and landed a job as the public affairs specialist for the Library of Congress Information Office. She held that job until 1995, receiving several library honors for her work.
In addition to her son, Mrs. Smith is survived by her former husband, Allen Smith; a brother; and a sister.
A memorial service will be held at the Library of Congress in Washington. A date has not been set.