Julia passed away peacefully on Friday, November 8, 2019 at the age of 84.  Born to the late Anna Long and Paul Stapleton of Shelbyville, KY, Julia attended grade school at Cropper Elementary.  She graduated from Shelbyville High School in 1953 and attended Union College, graduating in 1956.  Her passion for teaching led her to Florida where she taught at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange. She later took her Specialist Degree to the Chisholm Elementary School in New Smyrna Beach as a reading recovery teacher.  Julia was an avid member of the Unitarian Universalist Community in both Ormond Beach and Port Orange, Florida.  She was a world traveler and gifted piano player.   Her beautiful soprano voice sang proudly throughout her life at venues she attended.  She will be remembered for her contagious beautiful smile, her unconditional love for her family and the countless friendships she made.  She was committed to making a difference in the life of each child she mentored.  There's surely a new bright star in the heavens.

Julia was a loving wife of the late Leon Dary and a nurturing and dedicated mother to Ann DiCorcia and Lee Smith, of Natick and Hopkington, Massachusetts.  She was a loving sister to Katherine Cleveland and the late Pauline Adams of Shelbyville, Kentucky, proud grandmother to Danielle and Caitlin DiCorcia, Graham Ferguson, and Kaitlyn and Emily Dary and beloved Aunt to David and Daniel Smith, and John and James Cleveland.

A Memorial and Celebration of Life service will be held for Julia in Natick, Massachusetts in the Spring of 2020.  A Kentucky service will be announced by her family in Shelbyville.  In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in memory of Julia Stapleton Smith-Dary to the Dementia Society of America (PO Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901), ( https://dementiasociety.org ).