Marjorie Smith was born in 1920 to Ethel and Henry Smith, their only child. She grew up in a modest home where her mother taught her the skills that would one day make her a capable wife and mother: cooking, sewing, gardening, preserving food, cleaning, mending, and caring for children. Marjorie watched her mother and the other women around her work tirelessly for their families, and she grew to take pride in that kind of life. She dreamed of having a husband she loved, children to raise, and a home that belonged to her family.