Obituary for
Wanda M. Smith (Willows)
Smith, Wanda
With deep sorrow we announce the sudden passing of Wanda Margaret Smith, loving wife, mother, grandparent, teacher, and friend, on August 4, 2019 at the Grand River Freeport Hospice, with family at her side. The world won’t be the same without her smile, one that could brighten any room. Besides her countless friends, she leaves behind her husband of 55 years, David Smith, daughter Janet Smith (Mike Usinger), and sons Tim and Ted Smith (Krystal Joyner), triplets who were predeceased by her beloved Tom Smith in 2014. Her six grandchildren—Cash and Caine Usinger of Vancouver, Ava and Jack Smith of Kitchener, and Sienna and Cameron Smith of Toronto—will always remember their visits and hugs with Nana, whose open-hearted, boundless love of children was a defining trait. She will also be mourned by her close-knit siblings: Morris Willows (Michelle), Harvey Willows (Bonnie), Donna Hill (Wayne), Fran Morey (Bill), Lois Wood (Bob Rowe), and Doris MacLachlan (Lachlan), as well as her many nieces and nephews. Born in 1939, Wanda grew up with her six brothers and sisters on a dairy farm in tiny Carlingford, Ontario, where she was known for working hard in the barn and fields, and where she learned the strength of family bonds. She showed calves with the 4-H Club and was a cheerleader and homecoming queen at Mitchell High School. After graduating from Stratford Teachers College, she taught at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School until she had her own children. She returned a decade later in 1977 to teach grades 1 and 2 at Keatsway Public School in Waterloo, where she always found the positive in her students and provided a warm, inviting classroom that many people still commend as adults. Wanda was a selfless giver, shown in her many years of volunteer work for the May Court Club of KW; after travelling with the May Court Puppeteers for four years, Wanda assisted at the club’s thrift clothing store and the Christmas tree ticket sales at Conestoga Mall, and helped with their food supplement program for schools throughout her retirement years. She also gave her time to CISV Waterloo and the KW Youth Orchestra. Wanda loved life, with a passion for reading books, playing bridge, golfing, gardening, and teaching her grandkids to ski. All of her friends knew that when they visited her they would get to sample her delicious cooking. She brought the same joy to watching golf, basketball, tennis, curling, and Blue Jays baseball as she did to sunny laundry days, making cookies with her grandchildren, and picking strawberries. Above all, she was a gentle spirit who was loved by all who met her, and who had a unique gift for making everyone feel special. A celebration of Wanda’s happy, impactful life will be held at Henry Walser Funeral Home (507 Frederick St.) on Sunday, August 25 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Memories will be shared at 2:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, donations to May Court and the Canadian Cancer Society – Breast Cancer are welcomed (cards available at the funeral home). Visit www.henrywalser.com for Wanda’s memorial.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Wanda
Smith Willows 1939 2019..
Décès pour la Ville:Kitchener, Province: Ontario