Connie Kelsey Smith

Connie Kelsey Smith
April 19, 1929 – February 12, 2020
Connie Kelsey Smith, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 12, 2020. She spent her last days being visited by family and many friends who loved her dearly.
Connie was born on April 19, 1929, in Smithfield, Utah, to Mayda Abigail Moody Kelsey and Roy Willis Kelsey. She was one of 14 children, 11 of whom grew to adulthood. She was born in the midst of the Great Depression. She learned early the value of hard work, earning all the money for her school clothes each year by weeding carrots, picking beans, and babysitting. Money was not easy to come by. Occasionally she was able to attend a movie matinee for a 10-cent admission fee.
She was educated in Smithfield and graduated from North Cache High School where she was an excellent student. Her love of learning and her value of an education blessed her children and grandchildren. Connie was so proud of all of them. She loved doing crossword puzzles her whole life until her vision no longer permitted it.
On her way home from a church activity, she met a young man and his friend who had ventured north from Hyrum to find something or someone new and exciting. It was the first of many trips to Smithfield for Homer Ray Smith. He visited Connie at Smithfield Drug Store where she worked at the soda fountain. Homer ordered many banana shakes from Connie (a family favorite to this day). Their courtship was sweet. Connie was impressed with Homer’s ability to work hard but mostly with his goodness and loving kindness. On the inside of a frosted car window, Homer wrote with his finger, “Connie Smith” and asked her to marry him. She was very proud to be his wife. It was a name and a relationship she treasured.
On September 17, 1947, Connie married Homer in the Logan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They enjoyed 69 years of marriage. They lived in Logan for a short time before moving to Hyrum where she would spend the next 40 years with Homer raising a family, serving in the Church and in the community, and building a successful family business, Edwards Furniture. She served in many callings in the Church. She and Homer served a full-time mission in Detroit, Michigan. Together they made so many friends while they did these things.
Their marriage was blessed with 4 children: Kurt, Bryon, Paula, and Marty. We watched as they served, worked hard, made friends, and loved each other, us, and others too. They built a life together that was honorable and good. Connie was an equal partner in everything they accomplished. She was an excellent cook, and we enjoyed a lifetime of home-cooked meals. Many of those meals began in their garden. Fresh peas and new potatoes in white sauce were the best. While the food was always great, the conversation and relationships strengthened around family gatherings at the dinner table are priceless. The food Connie prepared was just a symbol of her love and affection for her family and friends.
Connie was very persuasive; and after 40 years, she convinced Homer to move to Logan to the Cliffside area. She continued her same pattern of service, friendship, and love in her hew home in Logan. She made additional new friends that enriched her life. Many of these friends visited her in her home weekly and at Maple Springs as well. These special friends became even more important after Homer’s passing in November of 2016. The Smith family is very grateful to these special friends as well as her caregivers at Maple Springs.
Connie loved to travel with her husband and friends. She was an Aggie fan and enjoyed attending and watching the games with family and friends. She loved her husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She taught us much. All who knew her were blessed.
Connie was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and all but 2 of her siblings. She is survived by her sisters Alice Beven and Donna (Richard) Chavez; sister-in-law Sheila Smith; children Kurt (JoAnn), Bryon (Michele), Paula, and Marty (Janae); and her 13 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren, and one on the way.
Funeral services will be held in her honor on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, at 11 a.m. at the Canyon Ridge LDS Ward, 1380 East 25 North, Logan, Utah. A viewing will be held prior to the services from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. as well as Tuesday evening from 6 – 8 p.m. at Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 East Center Street, Logan, Utah. Interment will be in the Hyrum City Cemetery following the services. Condolences and memories may be shared online by visiting www.allenmortuaries.net