Wilma Naomi Lautaret Elliott Smith, 90

Wilma Naomi Smith was born Dec. 11, 1917, in Waggoner, Okla., to William and Zora (Kennedy) Lautaret. She was the fifth of six children, two of whom died in infancy. She went quietly and peacefully in her sleep "to be with the Lord" early on the morning of Dec. 30, 2007, at the age of 90.

Before she was 3 years old, the family moved to Hugoton, a farming community in southwest Kansas. She went to school there and completed the first five grades. Her parents were active in the Church of God, her mother being an ordained minister. Due to the ill health of her father, the family moved to Florence, Colo., where she attended sixth through 12th grade. She was popular, holding a class office all four years of high school, and was an honor student, being the salutatorian of her senior class.

She was married there to Marvin Elliott, and had one son, Kenneth. Then the family moved to western Oregon and on to Washington where a second son, Ray Gene, was born in Wenatchee.

In 1949, the family moved to Kalispell, where her two brothers, Harold Lautaret and his wife Sue, and Laurence Lautaret and his wife Maxine, and their families lived. She attended the Church of God (later Northridge Heights Church of God) and was converted to Christ in 1949. She was very active in the music department and held several different offices.

She worked at the Kalispell Mercantile Company for nine years as a bookkeeper. She tired of working with "dead" figures and wanted to work with "live" ones, so in the fall of 1960 she and a young widowed friend, Virginia (Meeks) VanderEnde, moved to Portland, where they both enrolled at Warner Pacific College. She worked part time, mostly in the college library, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964 with an education and psychology major.

She spent a year working in Portland for an anesthesiology clinic, wondering what to do in the future. She applied to Oregon College of Education at Monmouth, Ore., and was accepted. She earned a master's degree in education of the deaf in 1966.

In June of 1966, she married LaRue R. Smith, who owned several rental properties in Netarts, Ore. She worked at the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem in 1967 and 1968. She then remained in Netarts for a time and helped with the rentals. She missed the challenge and fulfillment of education, so she applied for work in the Tillamook school system and started on a part-time basis Jan. 1, 1970, working with hearing-impaired children. The school year of 1981-1982 was the first year she worked full time. This involved working with a profoundly deaf girl in high school, and learning sign language, which was a real challenge and joy.

She attended the Friends Church in Netarts and was active in the music department, Sunday School, and women's activities. She believed, and exhibited in her life, that faithfulness and dependability were two of the best characteristics a person can have.

Following LaRue's death she moved back to Kalispell to be near her brothers, Harold and Laurence Lautaret. Since that time, she faithfully attended Whitefish Community Church of God where her nephew, Larry Lautaret, is pastor.

Following Laurence's death in 2003, Wilma was faithfully and lovingly cared for by her niece, LaVonne (Lautaret) Ertz, and her husband Ralph Ertz, at the family home in Kalispell.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Zora Lautaret; her husband, LaRue R. Smith; and her brothers, Harold and Laurence Lautaret.

She is survived by her sons, Kenneth Elliott and his wife Adele of Hugoton, Kan., and Ray Gene Elliott and his wife Kathryn of Doylstown, Pa.; stepchildren Gary Smith of Portland, Greg Smith of Milwaukee, Ore., Marcia Smith Griggs of Happy Valley, Ore., and Lorraine Smith Kistler of Aloha, Ore.; her sisters-in-law, Maxine Lautaret and Sue Lautaret, of Kalispell; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is planned at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, at Whitefish Community Church of God. A memorial service in Portland, with inurnment in Tillamook, Ore., is still being arranged.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Whitefish Community Church of God, 5685 Highway 93 South, Whitefish MT 59937.