Barbara Ann Smith

Dec. 20, 1939 – Feb. 10, 2017 SUN CITY - Born in Santa Clara, Calif., to her loving parents, Bill and Irene Bothelo, Barbara was the loving wife of Ronald Smith (Sun City) for 31 years; beloved mother of Julie Matthews, of Queen Creek, Michael Raposa (Sandra), of Glendale and Michele (Jim) Hulin, of Las Vegas, Nev.; loving step-mother to Debra (Einar) Ingebretsen, Sarah Smith and Steven Smith; loving and proud Granny of Theresa Matthews, Geoffrey Raposa, Ian Raposa, Kristen Ingebretsen, Daniel Ingebretsen, Liana Smith-Gioe and dearest great-grandmother to Elias Matthews. In 1995 Barbara retired from her position as office manager for Dr. Alfred L. Hurwitz, M.D., after 34 years in San Jose, Calif. Ron and Barbara relocated to Sun City, in December 1995, where they have lived since. Barbara devoted herself to volunteer work and gave many years of service to The Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic Organization in Phoenix, where she faithfully read books and textbooks that were recorded so they could be used by blind and dyslexic people, every week. She earned Volunteer of the Month and Volunteer of the Year for over 1,400 hours of service. She also tutored ESL students. Barbara loved crossword puzzles and was an avid reader. In her later years, Barbara endured many medical issues and much pain but still maintained her independence and drove herself to do her errands daily. She refused to give in to using a wheelchair and bravely soldiered on. So, it is a severe shock to her family and friends that she was hospitalized with flu complications on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, and passed away peacefully in the presence of her loving family on Feb. 10, 2017. The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses of the Intensive Care Unit at Banner Boswell Hospital, Sun City, for the loving and expert medical care they gave Barbara during her time there. Sadly missed by her husband, daughters, son, stepdaughters, daughter in law, stepson, son in law, grandchildren, great grandchild, cousins and lifelong friends. Condolences for the family may be shared at www.menkefuneralhome.com