Anna Lou Smith

Oct. 6, 1934 - Feb. 18, 2014

Our mother is at peace. Her greatest wish was to be at home surrounded by her family. That wish was fulfilled after years of struggling with heart and kidney disease. She went home to join her mother and others who have gone before with the blessings of her church. Ann was born in 1934 in Mountain Park, OK. She was raised in Klamath Falls, OR, finished high school in Reno and spent most of the rest of her life in her beloved Nevada. While raising four children on her own, sometimes working two and three jobs at a time, she attended IBM computer school and upon graduation she began her professional career at the Reno Gazette-Journal. In 1967, she became the first female computer programmer for the State of Nevada with the Nevada Highway Department, and later with Employment Security. In 1994 she retired from state service as a Senior Systems Analyst. During her long career with the state of Nevada Ann was actively involved with her union (SNEA) attaining many leadership positions, and was honored with a lifetime membership. She was active in her political party, where she lived her values as a responsible citizen and giving back to her community, which included teaching several classes at the Community College. Through her devotion to her family she spent many years volunteering her service with Pinkerton Ballet Theatre and the Battle Born Civil War Reenactors. She greatly enjoyed participating in portraying living history and received an honorary lifetime membership from the club. For mother her family was always the focus of her life. We always thought her favorite piece of bread was the heel and that she didn’t like milk and meat. It wasn’t until we were adults that we knew she was saving the best for us kids. In the early days she worked two jobs as a waitress and ran a boarding house in Reno to support us. We never knew we were poor. We took vacations every year, sleeping on the ground in our bedding was a great adventure. We never missed a parade or free movie downtown. She is survived by a family that deeply loved her including her daughter Vicki Smith (Jeanie Harman) of Camas, WA, son Randy Smith (Donna) of Klamath Falls, OR, son Craig Smith (Laurie Curry) of Reno, NV, and daughter Susie Giurlani (Roy) of Carson City. She also adored all of her grandchildren; Iisha Juliussen (Randy Horsfall), Nicole Stewart (Scott), Jesse, Joshua, Craig, and Zacharias Smith, and Joshua and Bethany Giurlani; great grandchildren Daniel and Christopher Juliussen, Colton, Everett and Autumn Stewart, and Harley and Jesse Smith. She is also survived by her sister Marion “Sunny” Betz of Rio Linda, CA, many nieces & nephews, a large extended family and many loving friends.

A celebration of life will be held at Walton’s Chapel of the Valley, 1281 N. Roop St at 4:00 PM, Saturday, February 22nd. A reception will follow at at LDS Church at 411 N. Saliman Rd in Carson City from 5-7 PM