Wanda B Minter

Wanda Beverly Smith Minter, 87, a long time resident of Seattle, Washington, formerly of Ithaca, New York, passed away peacefully at 5:30 a.m. on July 3rd, 2010 at The Glen's Adult Family Home in Lynnwood, Washington.

Wanda was born July 15, 1922 in Ithaca, New York to the late Harold Benjamin Smith and Mable Hawthorne Wood, also of Ithaca. Wanda graduated from Ithaca High School in 1940. She faithfully served as a U.S. Post Office employee for 24 years in Seattle, having received superior performance recognition for innovative thinking and assessment of the job to be performed in devising a method together with another fellow employee of having a Postage Due and Business Reply mail available to customers a full day earlier than the previous method.

Wanda loved gardening - especially flowers- and she also enjoyed knitting, sewing, quilting, with a special place in her heart and home for her collection of bears and dolls.

On this week of July 4th as we celebrate our country's independence, Wanda's ancestry reminds us of those great patriots who have made our freedoms possible. Wanda's patriot ancestry takes us back to the early 1800's in Ithaca, New York and from New England since the early 1600's, with a bridge to the American Revolution as Josiah Smith, one of her second great grandfathers, served at Valley Forge with George Washington. Josiah's father-in-law, Seth Shove, also served in supporting the cause of independence from his home in Connecticut.

Wanda is survived by eight of her nine children: Susan Bishop(Wayne), of Ithaca, New York, Patti Reding(Tom) and Tom Hamilton(Mizue), both of California, Patricia Hook(Bryan), William Minter(Debra), Bob Minter, Joyce Coleridge, and Gale Heckard(Ed), all of Seattle, Washington. She is also survived by her youngest brother, Harry Foote, Jr.(Lucy), of South Carolina.

Wanda is preceded in death by her first child, Gary Paprocki. She is also preceded in death by her younger brothers and sisters: Harold Benjamin Smith, Jr., Helen Slater, Doris Cole, and Robert Smith.

Wanda has been blessed with many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews living across the country from Alaska to New York. She will always be remembered in our hearts and eternally in our lives. God bless us all to have the patience and courage that she demonstrated in her lifetime and which she will carry with her now.