Juanita ‘Ann’ Smithwick

October 23, 1932 – June 20, 2020

Dear family, friends and the curious,

Juanita “Ann” Smithwick passed peacefully on June 20, 2020 at age 87 in Seattle, Washington.

Ann was born Oct. 23, 1932 in Iraan, Texas. She was the only child of Silas and Vooreese Pittman. Silas, an oil engineer (aka a wildcatter), and Vooreese, a court stenographer and real estate speculator (at one point owning 25 homes and two hotels), lived a nomadic life in their search for oil. They moved around West Texas (her favorite city was San Antonio) and New Mexico. There was a year of elementary school in Acapulco and a year of high school in Calgary, Canada (they made fun of her southwest accent). In 1948 at the age of 16 she graduated from high school in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Still only 16, she started college at Texas Tech. Around that same time her parents divorced and Mom moved to Reno with her mother where she attended the University of Nevada. Six months later her parents remarried, and they moved to Quincy, Washington, again looking for oil. Once in Washington, Mom attended Central Washington College and worked toward a degree in education, eventually transferring and graduating from Washington State College (not yet a university). She was very proud to be a Coug. Go Cougs!

Her first job was in Wapato, Washington, where she lived in a boarding house with her mother. It was here that she met and married Harry “Buster” Smithwick. They married in 1957 and were married for 53 years at the time of Dad’s passing in 2008. They farmed in Wapato for a few years and then moved to Warden, Washington.

Mom lived in Warden for over 50 years and kept the same phone number until the day she passed. Anyone remember “FIllmore” 9-2236? She taught at the Warden School District until her retirement at age 65.

In 2016 a new chapter began for my mom when she moved to Seattle to be closer to me, her only child and lone survivor, Marie Smithwick. Helping my mom and being a part of her life the last four years has been an honor. She had a keen interest and curiosity in the world until the very end. Although highlighted with silver, Mom’s hair was still red and her eyes, a bit cloudy, were still green. She was organized, analytical and more pragmatic than emotional and loved to solve problems. She had a great sense of humor and we would “get tickled,” as mom would say, and laugh until the tears were rolling. She was fascinated by people and compassionate about their circumstances. She valued her friends and their histories and knowledge that they shared. She could tell a story and she had many. She faced issues head on and the mantra that she lived by, passed on from her father, was, “every problem has a solution”.

She had lived a lifetime before moving to Warden and she was happy to settle in one place (that said, she always kept a bag packed and her passport current. You just never know, right?). She told me that the best years of her life were lived with me and Dad. That said, she never really did leave Texas. She was always still that little red-headed kid playing in the desert. A Texan through and through.

Mom was laid to rest in Wapato at Reservation Memorial Park. There were five attendees all wearing appropriate COVID gear. Strange times, my friends.

I will never forget her and love her always.

I want to thank you for all the kind words sent my way. It has meant so much.

In memory of J. Ann, donations can be sent to: Warden Volunteer Firefighters Association, P.O. Box 368, Warden, WA 98857.

There is no funeral.