Former SC state Sen. Nell Smith dies

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Former Easley state Sen. Nell Whitely Smith has died at age 81.

Dana Rhinehart at Robinson Funeral Home in Easley said Smith died Saturday.

Smith was the widow of state Sen. Harris Page Smith who died in 1981.

Nell Smith then ran to fill the rest of his term and won two more four-year terms, serving in the Senate until 1990.

She served on the Clemson University’s Presidents Council and Baptist Easley Hospital’s foundation board. Smith was also the American Civil Liberty Union’s legislator of the year in 1990.

She taught in Pickens County schools before her election.

Hugh Smith told The Greenville News his mother was hard to keep up with even after she left the Legislature with all the community work she did for children and health care.