|
| |
Wilson & Geniel (Reynolds) Smith
  Photos © by: Martha Real |
 |
Submitted by:Jan Grooms
©The Stilwell Democrat Journal
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Geniel was born in Springville, Utah on March 3, 1923 to Edward James Reynolds and Oma Johnson. There were 5 brothers, 4 sisters and 2 babies that died in infancy, leaving Geniel as the last of her family. She was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the age of 8. She was raised on a farm and learned how to care for others. Her mother died when she was 14. Her older siblings had moved out by this time, so the household chores were hers. She did all the cooking for her father and the ranch hands and housework and cleaning for the family. She told us that she baked 12 loaves of bread every other day. As most of you know Geniel loved to cook and was very good at it. We all know about her Pecan Pie, her Christmas fruit cake, the coconut cake and fiesta rolls.
She graduated from Springville High School in 1941. She and her girlfriend volunteered at the local art gallery and enjoyed explaining to people about the art work on display.
After graduation she moved with her brother and sister in-law to Compton, CA. There she met a family named Turnage and they took her in and she worked for them and became a part of their family. She met Wilson Smith at her girlfriend's house across the street. They had a few dates then along came WWII and Wilson signed up for the army. They wrote letters while he was away serving his country.
When he came back to the states he was stationed in Camp Fannin, Texas, near Tyler, Texas. Then Wilson convinced her to come to Texas and get married. She took the train from California to Texas, and they were married in Tyler Texas, on September 25th, 1943. She worked in a bakery for 2 years while Wilson did his army service commitment. After she became pregnant with Walter she moved to Utah & when Wilson got out of the army he joined her just in time to be for the birth of their son Walter. They then moved to Compton, CA and bought their first home. They lived there for 14 years. Their second child Craig was born there in 1960.
It was in Compton that she became active in the church. Everyone knew they could always count on her and Wilson to help in any way. When Craig was in the 3rd grade they moved to LaHabra, CA. It was there that they went to the Los Angeles Temple to be Sealed for time and all eternity.
Wilson retired in June 1990 and they moved to Stilwell, OK and built their home and moved into it in November 1990, just before Thanksgiving. They worked in the original Stilwell branch of the church. They were home and visiting teachers in the Stilwell area and were friends to all they came in contact with. One month before Wilson passed they celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary.
She has told us several times that "no one knows how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ meant to her. It is what helped her get through the many challenges and trials that she faced in her life on this earth."
Geniel is survived by her 2 sons, Walter Smith and wife Linda of Stilwell, OK, and Craig Smith of Stilwell; two grandsons, Rory and wife Joy Ashwood of Riverside CA & Jay Ashwood also of Riverside, CA; two great grandsons Nathan and Matthew Ashwood of Riverside, CA; sister-in-law Rhea Reynolds of Provo, UT and sister- in-law Mary Reynolds of Arizona.
Geniel was a very special LADY
Funeral services were held 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 24, 2015 at Hart Memorial Chapel and interment followed at Stilwell City Cemetery under the care and direction of Hart Funeral Home of Stilwell.
This page was updated: Thursday, 09-Sep-2021 23:17:57 EDT
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.