Janice Mary Smith

Janice M Smith, age 81, of Lakewood, Colorado passed away on Friday, August 8, 2025. Janice was born in New York to her two doting parents, Charles and Margaret Murphy. After meeting her loving husband and best friend, Quentin Smith, the two would move to Wichita Kansas for Quentin's educational expansion and build a beautiful family who would come to learn the meaning of love. The family would move from Kansas to Nebraska, then Virginia, before finally settling down in colorful Colorado. No matter where the family lived, Janice and Quentin led by a strong and loving example for their children with a marriage and true companionship that would span over the course of 61 years.

Not only did she value passing down the importance of love, but she strongly valued community. Janice made herself a primary member of several groups, including the Christ on the Mountain women's group, a women's book club, a women's lunch group, a mahjong group, a faith group that she and her husband would attend, and a weekly gathering at her favorite coffee shop with her friends. These gatherings filled Janice with a sense of purpose and allowed her to show passion with all the things she loved, often allowing her to take on the responsibility and leadership to keep her community strong. It is without a doubt that these groups, and her family, will struggle to function without such a strong and passionate woman. However, we hope to keep her amazing spirit in our hearts and minds, letting it drive us in all that we do.

She is preceded by her parents and her brother Jay, and leaves behind her beloved husband, Quentin Smith, her two sons Charles (Michelle) and Jeff; Siblings Janet (Rex) Franklin, Pat (Fred) Herr, Dan (Gail) Murphy, and Bob (Cindy) Murphy; her grandchildren Erin (Owen) Fetzer, Chase Smith-Roberts, and Stephen Smith. She also leaves behind several nieces, nephews, and friends she loved so dearly.

A funeral mass for Janice will be held Tuesday, August 26, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Christ on the Mountain Parish, 13922 W Utah Ave, Lakewood, CO 80228, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Christ on the Mountain's building fund or a charity of your choice. For more information on how to make a donation to Christ on the Mountain, please call their main office at

(303) 988-2222.

Janice will be laid to rest with family and have a graveside service in Kansas at the Yates Center Cemetery on September 2, 2025, at 11:00 AM.