OREGON – Clarissa Sue Smith, 75, lost her long battle with lung cancer on Aug. 1, 2019. She was born Clarissa Sue Toms on Nov. 21, 1943 to Leon and Louise Pauline (Polly) Toms in Oregon. She was a 1961 graduate of Oregon High School. She married Robert J. Smith on July 7, 1977. He preceded her in death in 1999.
If you knew Susie, you had a friend, a neighbor, a woman that would truly be interested in holding a conversation with anyone that was willing to have one with her. She was a living, breathing example of God’s Golden Rule. I’m sure that none of us will ever realize how many lives she actually touched as well as our own.
The next time you work on a crossword puzzle, cryptogram, sudoku, play Bejeweled or Mau Jong, peruse a cookbook for a favorite recipe, watch Jeopardy or “The Wheel”, need to look up a plant, bird, flower or need to grow or pick something to can or freeze, think of Susie as that’s what she enjoyed doing and she knew a lot of facts off the top of her head. If you needed to know something, you would call Susie.
We can all keep her memory alive by treating others as we would like to be treated, with no judgement or prejudice. We learned from her example and have been truly blessed by her grace and humility. Her love for life radiated from her soul. Her spirit remains with us through each memory and our hearts keep her memories safe within us. God has gathered His angel.
She is survived by her brother Larry (Sally) Toms, children Dawn (David) DeGarmo of Cherokee Village, Ark., Shelly Gertmann of Palm Coast, Fla., Amy Smith of Oregon, Adam (Carrie) Smith of Columbia, S.C., grandchildren Chenelle (Matt) Benton of Oregon, Garrett (Nicole) Elliott of Oregon, Damon (Brittany) DeGarmo of Glencow, Ark., Amber (Austin Cooper) Ruthe of Sun Valley, Calif., Peyton, Addison, Gracelyn, and Ashton Smith of Columbia, S.C., Avery Burke of Oregon, great-grandchildren Lane Elliott of Polo, Sawyer, Laura and Paisley Benton of Oregon.
Susie was preceded in death by her mother, father and brother Butch.
There will be a celebration of life at a later date.
