Delores Jean (nee Grubbs) Smith was born on August 16, 1940 in Monticello, Arkansas to Rufus Clinton and Hattie Mae Grubbs. She passed away on April 26, 2018 at the age of 77 surrounded by her loving family after struggling with lung cancer and COPD.
She graduated from high school in Forest City, Arkansas in 1958. After graduation, she attended the University of Arkansas where she met her future husband Floyd R. Smith. They were married September 16, 1961; a union that would last for 57 years. To that union were born two children, Mark Chandler Smith and Elizabeth Anne smith. Her family was her life. Her husband entered the U.S. Air Force in 1962 and for the next 28 years lived in twelve different states, some more than once. During that time she worked with mutual fund companies as an accountant; was a school secretary; office manager for a real estate company; and retired from Tri-City Property Management in 2006.
She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. Her kindness, graciousness, and fun loving spirit drew in all who met her. She was intelligent, with a great sense of humor and intuitiveness. She was the angel on your shoulder; the cool side of the pillow; but she could be the point of the sword if she needed to be. She deeply loved her friends and doted on her children and grandchildren. Her granddaughter presented her with a great grandson the morning that she passed away.
She was a member of the Mid-Texas Corvette Club and the Heart of Texas Corvette Club. She especially enjoyed the club meetings, dinners, and drives with the two clubs. in 2011, she was commissioned as a Yellow Rose of Texas by Governor Rick Perry.
She was preceded in death by her parents, she is survived by her husband Dr. Floyd R. Smith, PhD, Lt Col USAF (R); her son Mark Smith, his wife Carmen and their two children Nick and Chase; a daughter Elizabeth Smith, granddaughter Courtney Anne Ledford and a great grandson Clarence J. Blocker IV. She is also survived by a sister Barbara Sue Schwerin and her husband Gene. She also leaves behind two special people in her life; Ed and Sandy Ferril-she loved them both.
She leaves behind a deeply saddened family, extended family, friends and many people who adored her. The world has lost a truly beautiful soul, but we can feel her love around us.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Lung Association or a charity of your choice.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, May 2nd at 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM; the funeral will be on Thursday, May 3rd at 10:00 AM; both will be at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home in Killeen, TX. Following that, the burial will be at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery at 12:00.
