Obituary of Kathleen I Smith

Kathleen I Smith

Dr. Kathleen (Kay) I. Smith passed on to her eternal reward on Thursday, December 14, 2017 in Vancouver, WA, interment on Friday, December 29, San Fernando Cemetery at 10:30 AM.  Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 AM on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at the Church of the Visitation 88^th and Emerson Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045.  In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to Holy Family High School 400 East Lomita, Glendale CA 91205 or to St. Patrick Catholic Community, Carlsbad.CA.  To send condolences or remembrances, please go to cascadiacremation.com

Obituary

Dr. Kay Smith, beloved daughter, sister and aunt passed to her eternal reward on Thursday, December 14, 2017 in Vancouver, WA.  The fourth of eight children, she was born on August 27, 1927 to Agnes and Eli Smith in Grand Junction, Colorado.  She is predeceased by her mother and father, her loving siblings, Jeannine Culbertson (Bob), Larry Smith (Gerry), Jim Smith and his wife Connie, Alice Condren and her husband Joe.   Her three surviving siblings are Dr. Robert Smith (Marilee), Frank Smith (Dessie) and Mary Lou Ward (Al) and 25 beloved nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.

 Kay graduated from Holy Family High School in Glendale where the family had moved in 1942.  Deferring her further education to help support her younger brothers and sisters, Kay worked at various jobs honing her business skills.  She returned to her education in 1953 entering Immaculate Heart College as a freshman and graduating 3 years later with a degree in business while working full time.  She subsequently worked at Immaculate Heart as the Registrar for a number of years, leaving to pursue a career in education.  She earned a Secondary Teaching Credential as well as a Master’s Degree in Education, a Pupil Personnel, a Counseling and an Administrative Credential.  Her love of learning and advancing in her chosen profession led her to earning an EdD. Her last two assignments in LAUSD were at John H. Francis Poly Technique High School in a variety of capacities and Cleveland High School in Reseda where she was principal and from which she retired in 1987.

Kay remained as active as ever after her retirement and move to Carlsbad, CA with her beloved sister Alice and her husband Joe Condren.  She and they spent the next 25 years in happy activity both social and philanthropic giving her leisure time to golf, bridge and fun with all her many siblings and nieces and nephews, traveling with her high school friend, Martha Jo Morehouse and volunteering with Carlsbad Center for the Blind, Hospice, in various capacities at St. Patrick’s Church as well as being an officer in Kappa Gamma Delta and Carlsbad Newcomers.  Her avid interest in genealogy led her to travel far and wide to find the Smith, Hayward, Miller and Amundson family information.  Her warm heart and generous and quiet giving of her time, talent and goods were an inspiration to all who knew her.