Marcella Julia (Pelinka) Smith passed away gracefully on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 5, 2008, at the age of 83 after a long battle with (CBD) Corticobasal Degeneration.
She was born at her family farm near Bixby on Jan. 21, 1925, to Joseph and Mary (Pfieffer) Pelinka. Marcella attended country school and graduated from Blooming Prairie High School in 1943. She went to work at the Busy Bee Café and then at Owatonna Granite Works. She loved to dance and met her husband, Amos Smith, at Zeiner’s Ballroom in Bixby. They were married on Oct. 10, 1945, at St. Columbanus Catholic Church in Blooming Prairie. After the children were grown, Marcella worked at OMC and VonRudens Manufacturing Company. She farmed with her husband on his family farm near Ellendale until his death in 1990. She enjoyed farming, milking cows, raising chickens and gardening. She made the best homemade bread. She also enjoyed playing bingo, reading, putting puzzles together and taking bus tours. She exchanged letters for over 40 years with a pen pal from New Zealand. But her real joy was her grandchildren. She could be seen car pooling for many of their activities. Marcella had been a resident of Prairie Manor Care Center since January of 2006.
Surviving Marcella are her son, Edward (Nadine) Smith of Muldrow, Okla.; three daughters, Julia (Lowell) Wichmann of Ellendale, Jean (Francis) Coughlin of Ellendale and Shirley (Paul) Nelson of Blooming Prairie; 12 grandchildren; step grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. She will also be missed by many relatives, friends and neighbors. 
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; two sisters, Margaret Janning and Irene Pelinka; her beloved grandson, Tommy Jensen; and brother-in-law, Edward Janning.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Columbanus Catholic Church in Blooming Prairie with the Rev. William J. Kulas officiating. Visitation will be held at Worlein Blooming Prairie Funeral Home from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and at the church one hour prior to the service. There will be a 4 p.m. rosary service at the funeral home on Wednesday. Interment is at St. Columbanus Cemetery in Blooming Prairie.
The family wishes to thank those who helped care for Marcella, prayed for her, came to visit her and for all your kindnesses during her long illness.