Vida Lynne (Kowalski) Vacula Smith Raney, age 82, of Nacogdoches, Texas passed away on Monday, April 8, 2024. She was born February 25, 1942, in Beaumont, Texas, to parents Harry B. Kowalski and Helen Spicer Kowalski.
Vida graduated from South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas. She was a homemaker, a school bus driver and managed a dental office. Vida was a member of First United Methodist Church in Nacogdoches and the Nacogdoches Safari Club.
It is hard to put into only a few words the full breadth of Vida’s life. Vida is Spanish for “life” and she was full of it. She enjoyed tennis, gardening, sewing, and especially loved entertaining family and friends. Vida never met a stranger and loved making people feel special, whether by preparing a meal, cracking a joke, or singing her special version of the Happy Birthday song.
If you knew Vida at all you know she was an authentic person who truly took interest in everyone she interacted with. Her family and friends meant the world to her and were her greatest treasures. Her positive attitude was uplifting to say the least. In addition to her zest for life she was a skillful plant lover. She studied as a Master Gardener and her home reflected her expertise.
Vida was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Suzanne Kowalski; sons, Shannon and Slaton Smith; husbands, Johnny Paul Vacula, Robert Aaron Smith, and James Elbert Raney.
Survivors include children, Cassey Scales, Paul Vacula and wife Susan, and Kurt Vacula and wife Tanya; daughters-in-law, Marcie Smith and Robin Cefalu; sister, Helen Anne Tantillo and husband Anthony; 17 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Cason Monk-Metcalf Sunset Chapel. A reception will follow.
The family would like to thank the staff of Right at Home, the Arbor, and Hospice in the Pines for taking special care of Vida.
If desired, memorials may be made to Hospice in the Pines of Lufkin, https://www.hospiceinthepines.org/donate, 936-632-1514.
While we respect the choice to wear black at a memorial service, Mom also loved vibrant colors, so that choice will also be appropriate.
Arrangements are under the direction of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, Nacogdoches.
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