Kristie Smith

Kristie (Wayne) Smith, age 52, went to her heavenly home on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. She lost her bout with cancer after almost eight years, fighting all the way. She wanted to live in the worst way. God must have a special task for her in Heaven.

She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Loren W. Smith. He went by the name of Woody. She is survived by a daughter, Lorin Nicole Smith of San Antonio, Texas. Also surviving are her parents, Bob and Welcome Wayne of Iola. A brother, Kurtis S. Wayne, with his wife Sandy live in Salina.

Kristie was preceded in death by her grandparents, Ross and Alice Wayne of Wichita, and John and Wilma Hicks of Neodesha.

Kristie was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita on May 19, 1967. She attended schools in Goddard and Greensburg. She attended middle and high schools in Iola. She attended college in Hesston and finished her degree in psychology at the University of Southern Colorado at Pueblo, Colo.

She married Loren W. Smith on May 28, 1988, in Iola. They moved to Colorado Springs where Woody was stationed at Fort Carson. They had their only child while living in Colorado Springs.

Woody was stationed to Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, Hawaii, for several years. He was also deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia several times. Kristie took over the household duties while working a full-time job. They loved living in Hawaii.

Woody retired from the military after 22 years while living in Watertown, N.Y., at Fort Drum. They continued to live there and eventually bought a house in the woods. It was a good place to relax.

A celebration of life service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, at First Baptist Church in Iola. Pastor Randy Johnson will officiate. Randy was youth minister at First Baptist while Kristie was in high school. She remembered him with fondness.

She will be missed by her many friends and family. We all hope to see her again soon. She’ll have a new body and will be beautiful and able to see again. She wasn’t able to see the beautiful fall colors in New York due to the cancer causing blindness. She recently fell, breaking both hips and an arm. She was in extreme pain until the end.