GREENSBORO — Margaret Ridley Tyler Smith, died Friday August 19, 2011 after a determined battle with cancer.

She was the daughter of Margaret Ridley Long Tyler and John Edward Tyler II, who predeceased her. Survived by husband James Edward Smith, whom she married June 10, 1961, and their two children, Edward Moreland Tyler Smith (m. Carolyn Elizabeth Shankle), and Julia Ridley Smith (m. Glenn Stuart Perkins) and their grandchildren, Thomas Shaw Tyler Smith, John Theophilus Perkins, and Harry Nathaniel Rockwood Smith. Also survived by her brother John Cotten Pierce Tyler and her sister Ethel Leonard Gregory Tyler.

Mrs. Smith was born January 23, 1942. She graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in 1959 and obtained a B.A. in English at the Woman’s College of North Carolina in 1963. She did further graduate work at UNCG and worked several years for Meyer’s Department Store. She also taught High School English in the Alamance County Schools.

She opened an antique shop, Tyler-Smith Antiques in 1970, and was soon joined in the business by her husband James. They continued their business together until 2000. Mrs. Smith not only bought and sold antiques but was a frequent lecturer and worked as an appraiser. She taught courses on antiques at Guilford Technical Community College.

She was a member of the American Society of Appraisers for several years. She was an original member of the Blandwood Guild and the Greensboro Historical Society. She was a founding member of the North Carolina Society of Dealers in Antiques, serving terms as newsletter editor, vice president and president. She was also a long standing member of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts and the Historic Hope Foundation. She was an advisor to the board of the Furnishings Committee of Historic Hope Foundation.

Mrs. Smith exhibited at antiques shows along the Eastern seaboard including the Johns Hopkins Antiques Show, Arlington Antiques Show, the Mint Museum Antiques Show (Charlotte), Salisbury Antiques Show, Southern Pines Antiques Shows, Raleigh Antiques Shows, Winston-Salem Antiques Shows, and Atlanta Antiques Shows. She exhibited a general line of 18th and 19th century American and English furniture and art, with an emphasis on Oriental accessories.

Mrs. Smith was also an advocate for gifted education, serving as president of the Guilford County Chapter of the Parents for the Advancement of Gifted Education.

A celebration of life will be held in Greensboro at a date to be determined. The funeral will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Roxobel NC at 2 p.m. on Monday, August 22, with interment in the Tyler family graveyard immediately after the ceremony, followed by a reception by the family at “Oaklana,” Roxobel, NC.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the staff of Brighton Gardens of Greensboro and Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro for their tender care and genuine empathy.

Donations may be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 14, Rich Square, NC 27869 or to Historic Hope Foundation, 132 Hope House Lane, Windsor, NC 27983-7458.

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