Helen Smith died quietly and peacefully in her sleep on
Thursday, March 10 in Hayward, California.
She is survived by two sons, Dwight and Dwayne Smith, a daughter
Joanne Grigsby, ten grandchildren, and five great
grandchildren.
Helen Smith died quietly and peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, March 10 in Hayward, California.
She is survived by two sons, Dwight and Dwayne Smith, a daughter Joanne Grigsby, ten grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
Helen was born in Hollister on July 9, 1910 and was raised on a dairy ranch and farm in San Juan Bautista. She subsequently spent two undergraduate years at Gavilan Community College before graduating from San Jose State University in 1932 in education. She began her early teaching career at Soledad Elementary, completing ten years before getting married in 1941.
Helen retired from teaching in the early seventies and began to get more actively involved in a women’s golf club, the local chapter of the California Retired Teacher’s Association, and a dance band. She continued to enjoy golf into the 80’s, became Scholarship Chairman for CRTA and was the primary piano player for the band for many years playing for senior citizen dances in Fremont.
Throughout her long life, Helen always had a unique love and skill for watercolor painting. She liked flowers and colorful clothes. She especially enjoyed over thirty summers at the family cabin at Donner Lake near Truckee, California.
Friends are invited to attend the Funeral from Sorensen Bros. Chapel, Monday, March 14 at 9:45am. Thence to All Saints Church, Hayward, California for a Funeral Liturgy commencing at 10:30am. Following the mass a reception will be held in the church hall. Visitation commencing at the mortuary Monday from 8:30 to 9:45am. Burial will be Tuesday, March 15 at San Juan Bautista District Cemetery at 11am.
