She was born on July 10, 1935, in Emporia to A.G. and Willa (Bell) Pickett. She attended school in Manhattan and graduated from Topeka High School in 1953.
She married Robert W. Smith on June 9, 1956, in Topeka. He survives of the home.
In 1956, she received a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in home economics education. She received a master’s degree in counselor education from Emporia State University in 1973. She worked for 22 years at Flint Hills Technical College as an instructor, counselor and financial aid officer until she retired in 1997.
Other survivors include four sons, Steve Smith of Overland Park, Mike Smith of Manhattan, Brent Smith of Tonganoxie and Jay Smith of Salt Lake City, Utah; 14 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren, Brynley and Cooper.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Richard Pickett.
The service will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church, Emporia. There will be a reception after the service. There will be a private family graveside service prior to the service.
Memorials are suggested to the Bob and Ruth Smith Scholarship Fund at Kansas State University, S.O.S. Shelter or the Emporia Library and may be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home.
Online condolences can be left at robertsblue.com.
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