Death of Monroe's first wife Hilda Melin

Lake Mahopac, New York

Professor’s Wife Drowns

Mrs. Monroe W. Smith, wife of a member of the faculty of the Peekskill Military Academy, was drowned yesterday afternoon, in Lake Mahopac when a canoe in which she had been paddling upset about 200 feet from shore. Her body was recovered about one hour later. She is survived by her husband and one child.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith had been in the habit of going to Lake Mahopac for the past month, and were usually accompanied by their child. Yesterday, however, they made the trip alone. About 5 o’clock, the couple reached a small island in the lake, and Mr. Smith went ashore and preceded up a small hill on an exploring trip. Mrs. Smith remained seated in the bottom of the canoe, wrapped in a blanket. She had been learning to paddle and apparently was resting.

It is believed that while her husband was exploring the island, Mrs. Smith started out alone for another trip when the canoe upset. When Mr. Smith returned to the shore, he discovered the canoe upset and Mrs. Smith struggling in the water almost 200 feet from shore. He swam out and dived for about twenty minutes but found the water too deep. He was unable to locate his wife.

The cries of the exhausted husband for help were finally heard by a group of members from the Golf Club at the Dean House, who at once responded. After working for about an hour, they were able to locate the body with the aid of grappling hooks. The remains were taken in charge of by Edward Garmong, funeral director of Carmel, N.Y.

The funeral services will be held on Monday afternoon at the home of the deceased’s in Middletown, Conn.

Mr. Smith is a teacher of English at the Peekskill Military Academy, this being his first year here. He came here from the Germantown Friends’ School, Germantown, Pa. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the Wesleyan University.

From the Evening Star, Peekskill, New York, Friday, October 15, 1926