Vivian Marguerite Smith

Vivian M. Smith died Nov. 5, 2018, in hospice care at Ray Hickey House. She was 95 and had lived a full and blessed life. She lived most recently at Cascade Inn, Vancouver, for nearly 6 years. Vivian Marguerite Walling was born June 21, 1923, the oldest of 6 children of Amos Roy Walling and Sara Frances Foster. She was born in Omaha, Nebr., and raised in Palmer, Nebr., where she grew up riding a horse. She witnessed historical farming with huge threshing machines and big crews with horse and mule teams. She started school early and skipped two grades, graduating from high school in 1939 at age 15. A real beauty, she had caught the eye of Raymond (Dutch) E. Smith, 7 years her senior. They married that fall (Sept. 16, 1939) in Central City, Nebr. They had been married 56 years when Dutch died in 1996. They had 6 children. Dutch and Vivian lived for a couple years in Green River, Wyo., then in Grand Island, Nebr. They moved to Vancouver, Wash., in 1954, living on a farm until moving to the Cascade Park area in 1992. In her younger years she canned and froze produce from their big garden and made many of her children's clothes. They hosted frequent summer barbecues with their large extended family. They spent many hours playing pinochle with her parents and siblings. Vivian loved nature and birds, especially cardinals and meadowlarks, a memory from her childhood. Dutch and Vivian enjoyed many driving trips to the Washington coast, camping and digging clams; hunting trips near Glenwood, Wash., for the fall foliage, and sturgeon fishing at Bonneville and Cape Horn. Sunday drives were a feature of family life in the 1950s. They drove to Nebraska twice. Vivian was always the navigator with the map, pointing out historical sites and details. A music lover, Vivian taught herself to play the piano and to read music. The sound of her playing the old upright piano was always uplifting and is a favorite memory of her family. She was a longtime member of the Marshallaires community choir and sang in church choirs. In 1957 Vivian became a member of the East Mill Plain United Methodist Church, where she was a faithful supporter the rest of her life. She was active in United Methodist Women and the state assembly. She participated in many church plays and variety shows and enjoyed the Old Timers group. Vivian was a long-time Avon representative and a school secretary for many years. She also was a reliable room mother and member of the PTA, including serving as president, at her children's schools. As a school and church volunteer she could be counted on to help with bazaars, rummage sales, holiday carnivals, rest area coffee service, hospitality, field trips and vision screening. An avid genealogist, Vivian made many research trips (before computers) with her daughter Cherie to the National Archives in Seattle, the family history center in Salt Lake City, on a 4-week cross-country tour in 1990, and visiting family locales in England in 2001. In 2002 on an intensive search in upstate New York, Vivian was so thrilled with the best find of her genealogical life: the graves of her maternal great-grandfather (David Atkins Foster) and others whose whereabouts had completely baffled her and her daughter. She enjoyed many winter weekends at Sunriver with daughter Shannon's family. She liked jigsaw puzzles and coin collecting. Besides her husband and parents, Vivian was predeceased by a brother, Roy/Bud Walling, and son, Russ C. Smith. He died in 2017. Survivors include son Craig (Sandi) Smith, Issaquah, Wash.; daughters Linda Creamer, Vancouver, Cherie (Chuck) Bennett, Salem, Oregon, Kelly (Mark) Solovitch, Ridge Manor, Florida, and Shannon (Monty) Sheppard, Scio, Oregon; daughter-in-law Karen Smith, Vancouver; 13 grandchildren: Kim Short and Becky Ramilo, Wasilla, Alaska, Scott Smith, Steve Smith and Michelle Folsom, Vancouver, Jill Young, Wilmington, Ohio, Jim Smith, Auburn, Wash., Lisa Smith, Seattle, Dustin Solovitch and Summer Solovitch, Ridge Manor, Shane Sheppard, Sara Sheppard and Sami Sheppard, Scio; 13 great-grandchildren and 8 great-great-grandchildren; sister Mary (Pat) Hart, Vancouver, and brothers Gordon (Sachiko) Walling, Jim (Sharon) Walling and Monte (Beverly) Walling, Vancouver. Vivian's children are very grateful to sister Linda for the care and support she gave Mom during the last 10 years. Visitation will be from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, Vancouver, with private family graveside service following at 3:00. A Celebration of Life will take place at East Mill Plain United Methodist Church at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24.

Vivian Marguerite Smith

June 21, 1923 - November 5, 2018