Janine Kay Smith

On October 2, 2015, Janine Smith our wonderful wife, mother, best friend, mentor, example and rock we leaned on was cured of cancer by our Lord's merciful intervention.
Janine was born on May 11, 1946 in Boise, Idaho, the only child of George and Catherine Talley. She was educated in the Boise public schools; graduated from Borah High School and enrolled in Boise Junior College in 1964.
She received her Bachelor's degree in elementary education from Boise State University in 1968 and began her career in education that spanned 43 years.
Janine married Bill Smith (the luckiest man on earth) on June 21, 1969. Their union produced two fantastic children: Riley Smith (40) of San Diego, CA and Ashley Smith (38) of San Luis Obispo, CA. The next 46 years brought moves to 7 states as the wife of a football coach.
In addition to raising a family, Janine continued teaching in each new location. In 1998, the year she was first diagnosed with cancer, she earned a master's degree in special education in addition to certification in educational administration at the university of Utah and began her career as a principal. She devoted her professional life to helping kids believe that who they are makes a difference each day.
In 2007, Janine was a recipient of the prestigious
Huntsman award for excellence in education in the state of Utah.
A year later she fulfilled a decades long dream of teaching on a reservation and accepted the principal's position at Navajo Mountain High School in Utah. She retired in 2011 and moved to Sedona, AZ with Bill and their rescue dog, Roscoe.
Next to being with her family, Janine was happiest when she was at the beach, visiting friends, sewing, cooking, tolerating the game of football, shopping 'til she dropped, returning what she bought and shopping more and never paying full price (but look how much I saved!).
She truly was the life of the party and had a special touch that made everyone feel good about themselves. We will all miss her greatly, but in the words of her hero, Dr. Seuss, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened!"
A celebration of Janine's life will be held on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 PM at Parkview Elementary School, 970 South Emery St., Salt Lake City, Utah.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Janine Smith endowed fellowship ES113 at Boise State University. Address is Boise State University, Foundation, 2225 University Dr., Boise, ID 83706