Juanita D. Smith

Juanita Doris Smith, age 82, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sibling, sister-in-law, and aunt, walked peacefully through the vail of death on Thursday December 8, 2022. She leaves behind, for the time being, her loving husband of 65 years Dennis Smith, her 4 children Raymond (wife Suzi), Michael (wife Nubia), Juanita, and Mark, her 10 grandchildren (Raychel, Joshua, April, Baily, Derreck, Nathan, Kylee, Taylor, Lexi, and Anna), 8 great-grandchildren (Ashley, Ellie, Gabe, Jozlyn, Alex, Oakley, Andy, and Jovi), and 3 great, great grandchildren (Mason, Halley, and Sophia). She also leaves behind her surviving siblings John Fielding McCabe, Elizabeth Zerkle, and Bryon McCabe, along brother/sister-in-laws and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was welcomed in death by her mother, father, stepfather, sister, aunts/uncles, In-laws, brother/sister-in-laws. Juanita was born on September 26, 1940, to John McCabe and Lola Elizabeth Carleton in Walkermine, California. She grew up in California working hard with her family building houses and other odd jobs. At the tender age of 16 she met Dennis Smith who she later married for time and all eternity on December 6, 1957, in the Los Angeles California LDS Temple. She supported her husband throughout his military career and welcomed 4 children into their home. In 1974, she and her family moved onto a family ranch which her grandfather homesteaded between Willcox and Bowie where they lived for about a year until moving to Willcox, AZ where she lived until 2018 when she moved to Safford, AZ to help her daughter care for her young children. Juanita was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints serving in many different callings ranging from Relief Society President to Nursery Leader. In each calling, she served with her heart, mind, and soul. She also served 50+ years in the Boy Scouts of America receiving the Wood Badge of Leadership during her service. She continued her history of dedicated service as she worked for 13 continuous years as a Temple worker, three years in the Mesa Arizona and 10 years in the Gila Valley Arizona LDS Temples. While her children were growing, she was a stay-at-home mom until they were in middle/high school before she started working and became a bus driver for the Willcox Public Schools retiring after 20+ years of service and then drove for 10 more years after she retired. Her favorite thing to do was to drive the sports teams to their games. She also worked in the Willcox Public School print lab for years. After she retired, she spent her time working in the Temple, learning, and honing her skill in beading spending hours beading and making beautiful creations for her family and friends, and traveling with her husband. She also loved spending time with family playing games around a table for hours. A public viewing will be held on Thursday, December 15, 2022, from 9:00 9:45 am followed by her funeral services at 10:00 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Ward building on 900 Encanto St, Willcox, AZ. Following the funeral, Interment will be at the Smith-Carleton Family Cemetery. Interment will be a private ceremony with family and close friends. If you would like to send flowers, please send them to the Westlawn Chapel (105 South Arizona Ave. Willcox, AZ 85643). For those family and friends that would like to attend the funeral service but are not able to; the service will be aired via a Zoom Link. Topic: Juanita Smith Funeral Time: Dec 15, 2022 09:30 AM Arizona Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85823688656?pwd=Q3h6L1pJRjQ4SjdUYTVoZm5SQUU2UT09 Meeting ID: 858 2368 8656 Passcode: 120085 .

Juanita D. Smith

September 26, 1940 - December 8, 2022