Broadcast journalist with Presbyterian roots champions inclusive adoption

MILWAUKEE — As a PK (preacher’s kid), Wisconsin native Mary Stoker Smith was struck by the way her father would put pen to paper to come up with his sermons.

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“He really studied,” said Smith, a broadcast journalist in Milwaukee, the host city of the 227th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “He was really a scholar of the Bible and would put together a beautiful sermon.” 

That was an early influence for Smith, whose dad, the late Rev. Louis Stoker, was ordained by the Presbytery of Milwaukee in 1960 and served churches in several towns, including Bangor, Wisconsin and Cresco, Iowa. 

Though Smith did not follow him into the pulpit, she realized that she had some of the same skills. “I thought, ‘Well, how can I combine this love of talking and writing?’" she said. "It’s being a reporter, so I followed that track.”

Being an on-air personality for Fox 6 News has allowed Smith to not only tell other people’s stories but to share elements of her own life to highlight passion topics, such as inclusive adoption.

Stoker and his wife Ella adopted baby Mary in the 1960s when she was 6 months old. The adoption was unusual at the time because the Stokers were white and Smith was biracial — half Black and half white.

“They adopted my sister and myself,” Smith said. “My sister came first. They adopted her from Korea in 1964 and then they adopted me in 1969.”

Because of being mixed race, Smith had been labeled as “hard to place,” but was a perfect match for the Stokers, who wanted girls after having multiple sons.

Smith spent time in three foster homes, but “in six months, luckily, here come mom and dad,” she said. Her mom, who turns 93 this month, has told her, "We walked in the room, and there you were on the ground, and that was it.”

Though the Stokers were welcoming, some other people “would stare at us, and I'm thinking, ‘What's the problem?’” Smith said. Her parents “were really trailblazers, and I think really champions of inclusion in doing such a radical thing” in “tiny La Crosse, Wisconsin,” which was very white. 

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At least some of that openness came from being Presbyterian, Smith said. “We have a steadfast faith, and I think it's anchored in inclusivity, and isn't that — in my opinion — what being a Christian is all about: accepting others, forgiving others and … setting a tone that you are welcome, you matter, you're part of our family, and It's wonderful.”

The Stokers’ three biological sons were fabulous, too. “They didn't pick on me, I didn't pick on them, and they never treated us different,” she said. “They were just lovely and inclusive, and you know, always treated us like their sisters.”

Smith thrived in school, especially in English and forensics, and would eventually go on to earn a master's degree in journalism from Emerson College in Boston. A television internship confirmed that broadcasting was her niche. “I loved every corner of that newsroom. I loved the fast pace. I loved the immediacy, the connectivity to the audience, going out in public talking to people” and being a storyteller who thrived on deadline.

Today, she has notched 26 years in the industry, and “I just celebrated my 16th anniversary as an anchor here” after working in several states and earning a Chicago Midwest Regional Award for Outstanding Anchor in 2021 and 2022.

There is a “Midwest niceness” in Wisconsin, she said. “I'm so proud I'm from here.”

In addition to being an avid runner who also does committee work at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, she enjoys doing health segments and volunteering as an emcee at community events, including a breast cancer awareness walk.

“We just had a bunch of stuff for Juneteenth, and I was in the Pride parade this year, my first time,” she said, “so I love to emcee. It's really a great way to give back.”