Amanda "Gae" Smith Obituary (1941 - 2023)

Amanda "Gae" Smith was born to Henry Earl and Ruth Peterson on July 10, 1941, in Bisbee Arizona. Mom was raised in Heyburn, Idaho and lived many years in Mountain Home, before passing away April 30, 2023, in a care facility in Caldwell, Idaho. The oldest of 4 children, she was followed by siblings: Carla, Frank, and Robyn. Mom grew up in Heyburn and was in the first class to ever graduate from Minico High School in 1959. She would go on and complete cosmetology school at ISU, working as a full-time hairdresser until she married dad, Larry Smith on November 9, 1962, in the Idaho Falls Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At that time, they found their home in Acequia, Idaho and started their family of eight children. In 1967, after Heidi and Hope were born, they made their way to Mountain Home to farm. The next of the crew--Kurt, Holly, Kyle, and Kevin--were born while they lived in town. Mom took pride in her well-manicured front yard and rose bushes. She wasn't very impressed when dad brought home an old "tote goat" and proceeded to make a track in the back yard for their kids and anyone else that wanted a turn. Their house was always a revolving door with the neighborhood kids coming in and out and jumping on the trampoline. This led to a phrase that was used for years to come: "Shut the door, Richard." (Richard was the littlest boy that was always the last in and never shut the door!) In 1976, mom and dad bought the hog farm, where Kelly and Haylee were born. They lived there for 40 years. They raised a lot of pigs and kids on that farm. Dad always somehow provided a way for mom to be able to be a stay-at-home wife/mom. She excelled at some of those duties, while others were left to question. Some household items had dual purposes in our house. For example, the broomstick would reach over the stairway to release some of her frustrations on a child that was faster than she was. For years, a hairbrush was broken weekly over a little boy's hard head. His favorite phrase was, "That didn't hurt." Two things we could count on were a spotless house and never-a-dirty pan in the sink, except on Sunday. Sunday dinner was the only meal provided during the week. It always included roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. We also never had to worry about who we brought home--everyone was welcome. Some stayed for hours, and others stayed for years!! We just had to make sure they came in the correct door, and if their feet were muddy, they stayed on the mats. One visitor referred to Mom as "Ma Red." That name stuck and later turned into "Grandma Red" for several of the grandkids. Mom was a collector. She collected a variety of things. She collected many houseplants from military families in our ward when they left MHAFB, and never killed one. She had a day set aside every week to water them and it wasn't just a few minutes task. She painted and collected many years' worth of ceramics--something specific for a holiday in each month, as well as tote after tote of Ty Beanie Babies. There was every Disney movie ever made at Grandma's house, along with the whole collection of the "Living Scriptures" movies. She never walked away from a jewelry counter empty-handed when there was a ruby and diamond ring in it. Her justification was, "That is your dad and my birthstones!" Another thing we could also always count on was our whole home changing with every holiday. Big or small, that happened each year. From ceramics that she had hand painted on every single flat surface that would hold one, to cardboard stickups on EVERY kitchen cupboard door, to a fridge full of magnets. She blamed that on decorating her mother's elementary school room when she was little. Mom could often be found back at our pickup truck, swapping frozen kids for warm kids with dad on a Saturday snowmobiling, or sitting on the docks of Bear Lake during family reunions, taking cold, wet kids and sending the dry warm ones out to water ski with dad. Mom always volunteered in our classrooms at school. She was always the first to volunteer to chaperone trips with us. It didn't matter if it was a fieldtrip to the Zoo with 1st graders, or BSU for high school marching band competitions. She never missed a music program, halftime dance performance, dance competition, or band concert. She was always there. She didn't know a bridle from a halter, but she could be found for MANY years sitting in the grandstands with her show bill in her hand, keeping track of placings while watching several of her kids. That habit remained through her grandkids' horse shows too. One grandkid said, "She wasn't always happy, but she was always there!" In 2007, mom and dad needed a little more help with things. They left the farm and moved to the Homedale/Marsing area. This move put them closer to most of their kids. They could then be surrounded by grandkids. There wasn't anything in their life they took less pride in than their legacy of kids and grandkids. Mom, along with dad, made us the people we are today. We are a pretty strong, hardworking, hardheaded bunch of "Smith kids." She leaves behind some examples that were taught to us kids that even with time never faded. Some of these were respect for the church buildings and the Gospel. You never went out to represent the Church in any way without wearing your Sunday best. The thought of stepping foot in the chapel without a slip and a dress on (or shirt and tie) wasn't even an option, not even for a Primary Program practice. She also taught us that, "Even if you don't have the finer things in life, always take the best care of what we do have." From the house we grew up in, to the cars she used to drive, the things she had lasted her a long time. Mom was preceded in death by her husband, Larry Smith; parents, Henry and Ruth Peterson; sister, Carla Mickelson (Bill); son, Kelly Smith; son-in-law, Dan Stirm; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and her granddaughter, Kylee Ray Trujillo. She leaves behind 7 children: Heidi Stirm, Hope (Xavier) Villa, Kurt (Monica) Smith, Holly (John) Hall, Kyle Smith, Kevin (Ariane) Smith, and Haylee Smith; her brother, Frank (Priscilla) Peterson; sister, Robyn (Gary) Baxter; brother-in-law, Bill Michelson; 36 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren, with 2 more on the way. Services will be held in Marsing , Idaho at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday May 13, 2023. The viewing will be from 10:00 to 10:45, with the service at 11:00. After the service, the burial will be at the Marsing-Homedale Cemetery and then a luncheon back at the church (215 3rd Ave W, Marsing, ID 83639). All are welcome to attend.