Obituary of Darleen Violet Smith

Darleen Violet Smith

(March 20, 1940 - March 18, 2019)

Darleen Violet Smith of Camrose, Alberta, passed away on Monday, March 18, 2019 at the age of 78 years.

Darleen was born in Hardisty, Alberta to John and Olive Bennefield and was the eighth of nine children. She was raised in Hardisty and there she met the love of her life, Leonard Smith. They were married on December 27, 1955 and raised five daughters together. They relocated several times to pursue business opportunities together. They settled back in Camrose in 1991 where they remained until their passing.
 

Life was very busy for Darleen during these years working long hours with many people and responsibilities needing her time, attention and energy, but she still made time for her many interests and hobbies. She made beautifully painted ceramics, porcelain dolls and Artex paintings. She enjoyed puzzles, crosswords, was an avid reader and really loved her “soaps”. She had a great sense of humor, a sharp wit, was kind and gentle and very generous. She loved buying gifts for family and friends and the vast number of charities she faithfully supported for many years was inspiring. Darleen was adventurous and loved to travel. She greatly enjoyed being able to connect with old friends and new on Facebook, celebrating their triumphs, encouraging and supporting them in hard times. She fed the bodies of her loved ones with excellent cooking and their souls with her sweet smile and awesome hugs. Darleen’s love of the Lord was absolute and she spent time in the scriptures every day, believing in His promises and finding comfort in His messages.
 

Darleen was predeceased by her husband of fifty-three years, Leonard; grandson Ben; son-in-law Brent; three sisters; and two brothers.
She is survived by her daughters Deb (Clint) Davenport, Cindy (Jim) Huddlestone, Lori Storvik, Angela Sutcliffe, and Karlene (Jon) Ash; seventeen grandchildren; twenty-one great-grandchildren with two due to arrive in 2019; sisters Grace Lemay, Verna Longman and Mary Halbershma; and sister-in-law Shirley Bennefield.

A Celebration of Life was held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, April 12, 2019 from the Burgar Memorial Chapel. 

If family and friends so desire, memorial contributions in Darleen's memory may be made to Samaritan's Purse Canada or to the Canadian Diabetes Association.