Helen Smith
Passed: August 15, 2022
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Helen Smith
Passed: August 15, 2022
Obituary
Helen G Smith was born in the West Texas town of Ozona on June 12, 1945, to Lowell and Minnie McCaleb. The youngest of five children, she graduated from Ozona High School in 1963.
She married David Blythe in 1969 and moved to Arizona to start her family. In 1997, Helen married the love of her life, Grover Smith, and they were married until his death in 2004. Through the years, she held various positions, but her workplace wasn’t as important as the relationships she built along the way. Everywhere she went, Helen made friends…many of them lifelong. Helen retired from Banner Health in 2012.That same year, she sold her home and moved into the “barn” in her son David’s backyard. She described the home to her sisters at the time she moved in, as “a barn that he moved the horses out of and her into,” which became a running joke because it was truly the perfect place, custom built for her to spend her retirement years with grandkids and great grandkids around every corner. She later got caught in her own story when her sisters came to town for a surprise birthday party thrown in her honor.
Helen had a full life filled with many stories. She touched many with her infectious spirit. She was always ready to sit a spell and share stories over coffee…or to sit and read a good book.
She loved her family dearly…those by blood or by choice; she loved them just the same.On Monday, August 15, 2022, Helen went Home to be with the Lord…at the age of 77 years. She was welcomed at the gates by those who had preceded her in death. Her parents, her two brothers, Earl and Donald, her husband Grover, and her loyal pup Carly.She is survived by her sisters Lavern Casbeer, Wanda Knudson; her sisters in-law Patricia McCaleb (Donald), Doris Tillery (Earl); her children Laura Walker (Tim), David Blythe (Evonne), Renee Kelly, Jose Trujillo (Angie), and Sonny Smith (Suzie). She is also survived by her grandchildren Ryan Thornton (Briana), Brandon Thornton (Kelsey), Alyson Grimstad (Erik), Lauren Thornton, Sarah Walker, Abigail Walker and Jacob Trujillo. She also had six great grandchildren (Addison, Payton, Jaxon, Dean, Braeden, and Remi)…along with many others she loved and adored.
Helen was loved and admired by her family and many many friends. She served as the North Star for many that looked to her for guidance and direction…trusting that she would always lead them true! She has shown us The Way through a life well lived.
Helen did not want a funeral, and no formal services will be held. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Cancer society in her name.A celebration of life is planned for mid-October in Litchfield Park, Arizona.
11 responses to Helen Smith
anonymous says:
August 17, 2022
Anne and Arnold Bonatto
James says:
August 18, 2022
Helen was always kind to any of us scrubs Dave brought in. I’ll always remember that.
Angie Scifers says:
August 18, 2022
We have gained another angel.
Helen always had the smile and the hug! She was always a sweet conversation in a room that was not filled craziness and I loved that about her.
She will be held in my ❤️ heart and missed greatly!
Dave says:
August 20, 2022
She went by many names…Helen, Lena, Mom, Momma, Momma Helen, Grandma, Grandma George, GG and I mostly called her Lady. She had so many names because she touched so many people! Each one in a unique way that let them know that they were special…
That was her gift!
She had a full life with many roads traveled. At her core, she was an adventurer…but always grounded by family.
She claimed to be an introvert…yet she never met a stranger! She could, and often did, sit for hours exchanging stories. When you were talking with her, she was engaged. She listened intently and stored every word for quick recall at your next visit.
Momma had my sister and I 13 months apart and had been planning on having more children after me…though as I entered this world butt first, those plans quickly changed. I’m not sure if it was due to the poor birthing experience or the “terrible twos” I put her through…and by “twos” I mean decades, not years… .
But, Momma was destined to have more kids…they just came by other means. As Laura and I met friends and started bringing them home, Momma’s brood grew. After our parents divorced and she remarried…her brood grew. As she met folks through work and she embraced many as their mentor, guide or north star…her brood grew. When recently asked questions, in the hospital following surgery, to determine how she was coming back from the anesthesia…one of the questions was to give them the names of her children. She started with Laura and I then on to Renee, Joe and Sonny (children through marriages)…I was there and was nodding as she listed us all…as she had already met Laura and I many times she assumed that we were the only children…so when Momma kept listing names she shifted her puzzled gaze to me. I nodded acknowledgment with each name. The nurse was really caught off guard as the list continued to grow. Rodney, Yoho, Brian, Vonny, Timmy, Tina, Holly, Wadely, Bob…by now I’m crying and the nurse took that as a sign of me being concerned…so she interupted Momma. “Miss Helen, that’s quite a list, but I was only looking for the names of your kids…”, Momma was quick to cut her off…”Yeah, I heard you…those are my kids…I know I only gave birth to two of them but they’re still my kids just the same…”. That’s a lot of kids Miss Helen…to which Momma said, “that’s not all of them those are just the special ones.”.
Grandma George really, really loved her grandbabies…Ryan, Brandon, Alyson, Lauren, Briana, Erik, Kelsey, Sarah, Abby, Lauren, Jake, Josh, Jason, Dillon and Cassie…
It was a highlight of her life when she became a Great Grandma. She lit up every time they came to visit…Addison, Payton, Jaxon, Dean, Braeden and Remi…she enjoyed spoiling them at every opportunity.!
Momma had friends…close friends. Miss Jenee was like another sister to her. Miss Josie was her partner in crime!
Momma made sure we were close to our family…she was a hub for information across the whole family. She talked to them all…all the time. Sisters Lavern, Wanda, Patricia, Doris…cousins, Omeda, Carl…nieces that were like sisters, Carol, Donna…and many, many more.
Today, she went Home! I’m sure she was met at the gates by those that went before her. They are rejoicing today as they get to pick up their conversations with her from where they last left off.
We all promise to keep good notes, Lady. We’ll have plenty of stories to share when we meet again. I know you’ll be watching…but we’ll enjoy telling the stories just the same!
If you were lucky enough to meet her then you already know how special she was…
She was loved by many…even those she just met!
So, whether you knew her as Helen, Lena, Mom, Momma, Momma Helen, Grandma, Grandma George, or GG…just know she loved us all…truly and completely!
Eric Dial says:
August 20, 2022
Helen will be missed. She was always honest, kind and best of all- herself. ❤️