Theora Shelton SMITH is the daughter of Stephen Morton SHELTON & Fannie Adelia WARDLE Shelton.
Obituary
Dr. Theora Shelton Smith, 64, of 1565 Burton Court, died Saturday Jul 25, 1987, at her home of a cardiac arrest. She was born Jan. 20, 1923, in Roosevelt, a daughter of Stephen Martin (sic) and Fannie Adelia Wardle Shelton.
On Sept. 23, 1939, she married James Ricks Smith Jr. in Salt Lake City. Their marriage was solemnized in 1940, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. She had lived in Duchesne, Salt Lake City and in Ogden since 1950. She also lived in Bowling Green, Ohio.
She was educated in Duchesne and graduated from Weber State College and Brigham Young University where she received her doctorate. A member of the Burch Creek 1st LDS Ward, she had served as a first counselor in the Relief Society and also taught in the Relief Society, Mutual and Primary. She had been the coordinator of learning disabilities at Bowling Green State University and had taught at Brigham Young University, Idaho State University and was a professor and administrator at the Intermountain Indian School.
She was a member of the U.E.A., a member of the council for exceptional children, the Geological Club and the Gem and Mineral Society. She enjoyed the outdoors and was active in hunting, fishing and gardening. Surviving are her husband of Ogden, one son and one daughter, Wiley Ricks Smith, Tempe, Ariz.; Dr. Karen S. Peterson, Rock Springs, Wyo.; and seven grandchildren. Also surviving are one brother and two sisters, Aaron Leonard Shelton, Gilroy, Calif.; Mrs. Patrick (Clara) McKendrick and Mrs. William (Winona “Mickie”) Cassidy, both of Salt Lake City. Services will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at Lindquist & Sons Colonial Chapel in Ogden with Bishop Phil S. Selander officiating. Friends may call at the mortuary Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Frday from noon to 12:45 p.m. Interment, Syracuse City Cemetery.
Memories of Aunt Theora
I did not know her well; but what I did know I liked. Aunt Theora was full of energy and life. She was talented and loved to share her talents with others. And Aunt Theora was so very pretty! I remember their family had a pinball machine in their basement. My brother, Dale, and my cousin, Wiley, would spend lots of time playing with this. I was too young to play; but I remember what fun they had; and they let me watch up close. With my nose almost to the glass, I would watch the shiny metal ball bounce around and light up parts of the game they touched, and make bells ring.
Aunt Theora had a very special and very big black cat named "Curley". I used to wonder about the name; the cat was not curley at all; and yet the name fit perfectly! I remember the excitment surrounding their family getting to move into a really neat house. The remarkable thing was they were actually planning on moving this house onto some really neat property in Ogden, Utah. I had never heard of moving a whole house before! Wow! Uncle Rick was a genious when it came to engineering challenges; he lit up as he spoke of the challenge. This was a big house!
After the move, Aunt Theora took us on a grand tour. What a splendid home it was! In particular I remember the tile painting my cousin, Karen, made. It was a waterfall going into a built-in bathtub I think. Aunt Theora was so proud of this & of her very-talented daughter, Karen. Uncle Ricks & Aunt Theora were also very proud of their her son, Wiley. When Wiley got accepted into West Point Military Academy, I was bust'en my buttons as well. How exciting it was to see a full page photo of Wiley (in uniform) during a weapons inspection. By that time Wiley was a leader at West Point; and it was Wiley who was inspecting the weapons! Uncle Ricks & Aunt Theora used to camp on our land in Terra during the deer hunt. What fun we had! Aunt Theora made doll clothes for our daughter, Jamie. They were really well made. That was so sweet of her.
I loved Aunt Theora; many people did. Uncle Ricks, her husband, companion and best friend, never fully recovered from losing his beautiful sweetheart. The last time I spoke with him (on the phone a few months after his wife's death) he sobbed as he said, "Oh Sheila, I never knew it would be this hard. I miss her so much." Uncle Ricks died what seemed to me to be a very short time after this.
Aunt Theora, your niece and her family loves you very much; we look forward to another great reunion in the life to come. Farewell for a time, my dear aunt.
Sheila Gibson ~ SpiritHawk
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