Ann Marie (Mills) Smith
Ann Marie (Mills) Smith
Ann Marie (Mills) Smith passed away in Boise of natural
causes May 17, 2014, at the age of 82.
She was born November 4, 1931 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to Helen and
Harry Mills. As a young child the family moved across the river to Detroit,
MI. Ann grew up in Detroit, graduating
from Southeastern High School and Highland Park Junior College. When she reached adulthood, she became a US
citizen.
As young woman Ann met and fell in love with Charles E.
“Chuck” Smith after meeting him on a double date with his cousin. They were both 14 at the time and the “date”
was a trip to a local amusement park.
They officially started dating when they were 18 years old and were
married in 1953 in Detroit, MI. They
honeymooned in the upper peninsula of Michigan and traveled to Idaho so Chuck
could report to duty as a Staff Sergeant at Mountain Home Air Force Base. Ann was just one month older than Chuck but
he always teased her about marrying an “older” woman. They were married for 39 years when Chuck
passed away in 1992. Even though Chuck
died 22 years before Ann, he was always in her thoughts.
After Chuck left military service, they returned to Michigan
to be closer to family. Even though they
returned to Michigan, Idaho was never far from their minds prompting a vacation
to Idaho in 1963. On a whim, Chuck
stopped in at Idaho Power and was offered a job on the spot. Ann told him they needed to give it some
thought and prayer before moving across the country and away from family. In the fall of 1963 they decided to move with
their three young children to Boise, Idaho.
Ann’s mother and Chuck’s parents later followed them to also live in
Idaho. The family lived in Boise, Twin
Falls, and Mountain Home.
Ann was primarily a homemaker in the early years supporting
the kids in school, Boy Scouts, Job’s Daughter and other activities. She also worked part-time in retail at the
Bon Marche in Boise and Herrett’s Jewelry in Twin Falls. After moving back to Boise, Ann became a real
estate agent and in her later years joined Dr. Muto and his team at Idaho Eye
Care.
The family often took vacations in the west, back to
Michigan or to Canada. After the kids
were grown, Ann and Chuck expanded their travels to Hawaii and Europe. And there was one special trip on an Alaskan
cruise with Matt, Lori, Vickie and Jim when Chuck was near the end of his
life. Ann continued to travel; to New
Zealand, on a church sponsored trip to Egypt and Israel, and to England and
Scotland with Vickie until travel became harder as she advanced into
Alzheimer’s disease. Even in the
advanced stages of the disease she never lost her sense of humor or that
twinkle in her eye.
Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Charles E. “Chuck”
Smith; her parents, Helen V. and Harry Mills; and in-laws Zilla and William
“Cricket” Smith.
She is survived by her children:
Mark (Debbie) Smith, Bonney Lake, WA; Vickie (Jim) Whitham, Meridian; Matt
(Lori) Smith, Meridian. Grandchildren:
Christopher (Leah) Whitham, Boise; Patrick Whitham, Seattle, WA; Trevor (Amy)
Smith, Tacoma, WA; Amanda Smith, Salt Lake City, UT; Erin (Jeff Doan) Smith, Mill
Creek, WA; Ali Smith, Tacoma, WA.
Great-grandchildren: Camden and
David.
Brother, Edgar (Mary Esther) Mills, Amarillo, TX;
Sister-in-law, Jane (Jim) Eaton, Santa Cruz, CA.
The family would like to extend special thanks to the Willow
Park staff for their loving care of our Mom over the past several years; and to
Drs. Shanahan and Case, and the staff at St. Luke’s Meridian, who provided kind
and compassionate care at the end of Mom’s life.
Services will be held in the Cana Chapel at the Cathedral of
the Rockies, 717 N. 11
th
St., Boise, ID, Saturday, May 24
th
at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ann’s name can be made to
Cathedral of the Rockies – Local Missions or the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Ann Marie (Mills) Smith, please visit our flower store.
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