Jacqueline "Jackie" Anne Smith

Jacqueline Anne Smith (Jackie), age 81, passed away peacefully June 11, 2025. She is survived by her partner of 55 years, Carol Linda Kocher, her brother-in-law, Robert Prestel, and nieces and nephews, Janone Eldridge, Kalyn Sims, Gregory Prestel, Christopher Prestel, Marnea Shamblen, Robert Kocher and Michael Kocher, in addition to 21 great nieces and nephews, and 8 great-great nieces and nephews.

Jackie was born and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho. She is predeceased by her parents, Richard Lyons Smith and Ionemarie Minger Smith, and by her sister Janemarie Prestel. Growing up, she played the trumpet and coronet in her junior and senior high school bands. She also spent summers working at the Clark-Miller Ranch in the Stanley Basin in Idaho. Jackie attended the University of Idaho and received a bachelor’s degree in education. While in college, Jackie played field hockey and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She continued to play both the trumpet and coronet in various college bands and community bands long after college. Jackie began work on her master’s degree in education at the University of Oslo in Norway and completed her degree at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Jackie began her teaching career in Illinois but soon moved back to her beloved mountains on the west coast. She spent the remainder of her career teaching physical education and biology in the Bellevue, WA junior and senior high school systems. She also coached volleyball, basketball, track & field, gymnastics and badminton. One of her proudest accomplishments was taking the Newport High School volleyball team to the state championship. It was during these post college years, that Jackie learned to play the guitar just so she could sing around campfires.

During her teaching years, Jackie met Carol, a fellow teacher, with whom she shared common interests. Jackie took an early retirement in 1992 and moved back to Idaho to care for her father. It was here that she started a second career as a librarian at the Twin Falls Public Library. Upon her father’s passing in 2000, Jackie headed back to Carol and her friends in Bellevue.

Jackie and Carol share a love of traveling and genealogy and have traveled all over the United States discovering their roots. One of the highlights of their travels was a special tour of the West Wing of the White House during the Obama administration. Jackie was involved in several activities at her local Catholic parish. Both Jackie and Carol were also active in the Road Scholar program and in the local chapter Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) Sisterhood. Jackie enjoyed woodworking and trying out the various power tools her nieces and nephews gifted her over the years. She built doll houses, bird houses and yard art. Cooking was a favorite hobby of Jackie’s, and Carol especially enjoyed her chocolate chip cookies. In their downtime, Jackie and Carol enjoyed the view of the north Cascades from their mountainside home and watching the local bird fauna.

More than anything, Jackie treasured her family, friends and Catholic faith. She will be greatly missed by Carol and her many nieces, nephews, friends and family.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Jackie’s name to the Twin Falls Public Library or to the Public Broadcasting Service. If you will be donating in Jackie's name, please follow the links below to their individual websites.