Carolyn June Smith

Carolyn June Smith (June) passed away peacefully with family at her side on October 28, 2020. She was 86 ½ years young. She put up a tough fight but made the decision it was time for her to go collect her mansion with big white pillars in heaven.

June was one of eleven children and is survived by Aunt Joyce, six kids - Jimmy Witt, Carolyn Gladbach, William (Billy) Darnell, Polly Blackwell, Robert (Bobby) Darnell and John (Johnny) Darnell. However, she was Mom to many of our friends and raised them right along with us. She was the cherished “Grandma June” by not only thirteen Grandkids and seven Great Grandkids, but by all their friends as well!

June had a modest upbringing in Evansville, Indiana and dearly loved her “Mother” and “Daddy”. William (Bill) D. and Vada L. Moorhead. We grew up hearing stories of the antics her and her siblings got themselves into and saw some of the scars from the less successful ones. She learned, what would now be called “holistic remedies” for ailments that kept us healthy. Have you ever eaten a poison ivy leaf or had your throat swabbed? Not fun, but they worked great!

June married our Dad, Jack Darnell and raised us six kids here in Phoenix. They were young when they married and practically grew up together. We were taught that God comes first and that we are not better than anyone else and no one else is better than us. Dad grew up in Kentucky so EVERY year, we drove back to spend two weeks with our families in Indiana and Kentucky. Looking back, we are all so grateful for those vacations because otherwise we would not know how much fun our relatives are.

Later June married William (Bill) Smith. Yup, she became Mrs. BS and you bet we teased her about that! Along with Bill, we added three additional siblings and two more Grandchildren to the mix. We are so grateful that they dearly loved her as well.

At 46 years old, June went back to school and received her GED. She attended nursing school and worked as an LPN for many years in both Phoenix and Lake Havasu. Her favorite part of nursing was when she got to rock the babies in the nursery. After nursing, she worked at Target until she finally retired.

June wanted her family and loved ones to know how special each and every one of you were to her. If you ever feel bad about yourself and think you do not matter, think again. YOU, were loved and cherished by June and YOU made a huge difference in her life and made her feel loved and cherished by YOU. Our family is forever grateful to the people who became our extended family because of your love for our Mom. She had no idea how many lives she changed just by loving people for who they are. Goodbye Mom and we will all make you proud by continuing your legacy of love and the importance of family.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to whichever charity you connect with the most.

Foster kids had a huge place in not only June's heart, but our whole family's. A lot of times kids are taken from their homes in the middle of the night with only the clothes on their backs. AZ Helping Hands provides coats, clothing, school supplies, diapers, bicycles etc., all new to start them off in their new homes. You can donate online or mail in a donation.

Arizona Helping Hands

3110 East Thunderbird Road, Suite 100

Phoenix, Arizona 85032

To donate online, please visit the following link and select “yes” when asked to dedicate the donation and include your June's name.

https://azhelpinghands.org/give/#give-now

June was a breast cancer survivor so the family has included this link and requests that donations be made in her name for breast cancer research.

https://www.cancerresearch.org/join-the-cause/donate/one-time-donation