Shirleyan F. Smoker

Shirleyan F. Smoker was born on March 05, 1949 in Broomall, PA to where she grew up on 11 Summit Avenue, Broomall, PA.

She graduated from Marple Newtown High School in 1967 and went to college at the Tusculum University in Tennessee, where she graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in religion in 1971.

She met her husband Larry Smoker and together they shared a passion for traveling and truck driving.  Among friends they were known as the truck driving couple and together they traveled the entire United states. They later divorced after seven years of marriage.

Shirley moved to New York to start her direct marketing career at Crowne Publishing in NYC. A few years later she started working at Lazarus Marketing, in Long Island where she met her lifelong partner Stephanie.  While her experience as a direct marketing consultant grew at Lazarus, she decided to venture out with a partner to develop their own direct marketing business.

On March 3^rd, 2000, two days before her 51^st birthday, Shirley’s life took a dramatic turn when she received a heart transplant. With God granting her a second chance at life she mustered the courage to pursue her passion for animals. She attended dog training school in Queens and got her certification. Evelyn Rossi mentored Shirley as a dog trainer. Shirley was an obedience trainer at Doggie U, and started her own dog training business. It was called Smiling Pets Obedience Training (SPOT) where she was able to work with her dog students and their families. Dog training was her calling and she was known to be a very good communicator with the animals she trained and loved.

Unfortunately, Shirley was diagnosed with cancer and lost her battle on September 8^th 2020. Her memory will live on with Stephanie, her family, ( Helen, Jessica, Sadie, Kassidy, and Natalie Smith, Steven Grassi, John Whittenberger, Aunt Doris, Ed and Jim Wandling) beloved pets, and many cherished friends who all loved her dearly.