Luanne Joy Smith

Oh, what a life of adventure! It didn’t start that way. Luanne Joy Smith was born on the first day of the worst year of the Great Depression to Louis and Lillian Arnold. They lived in Langdon, North Dakota, a small rural town with a bowling alley and no stoplights. Luanne graduated first among her 35 classmates before making her way to the state’s booming metropolis, Grand Forks (population 27,000), to attend the University of North Dakota.

Luanne met the love of her life on a blind date one summer break. The lucky fellow, Dickinson Smith, was home visiting his parents in Grand Forks. Luanne moved to Washington, D.C., after her graduation to be near him while he finished his final year at the Naval Academy. Marriage, three kids, and a life of travel soon followed.

The life of a Navy wife wasn’t always easy, but she made every new house a loving and welcoming home (over 15 moves during Dick’s 30-year career as a submariner). Domestic life was punctuated by elaborately silly handmade birthday hats, field trips, travel, and family games. She was the family glue and supported the other Navy wives when their husbands were out at sea.

Luanne learned crafts from her mother and enjoyed sewing, needlepoint, making stained glass art, and completing impossibly hard jigsaw puzzles, many with scads of cats. She found further creative expression playing piano and gardening.

Luanne was engaging and social, often joining book, bridge, and garden clubs wherever she called home.

The flat wheat plains and warm lakes of North Dakota were now in the past, though the kids’ summer breaks allowed frequent visits with the grandparents.

Their peripatetic life was filled with adventure. She walked on the Great Wall of China, danced in the Presidential Palace in Manila, explored ancient civilizations from Mexico to Greece, and drove the kids around Europe in a VW van the summer of 1974.

The islands alone make an enviable list of the places they lived: Oahu (Hawaii), Coronado (California), Sardinia (Italy), the Philippines, and, finally, Bainbridge Island (Washington), their home since 2004.

Luanne is survived by her husband of 70 (!) years, Dick; their three children, Dickinson M. Smith, Jr. (Lisa), Scott A. Smith, and Paula Janos (Pete); and her sister, Judy Browder. Eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren add to her legacy. She was happiest when surrounded by her growing family where good food, games, and laughter were always present. She will be missed dearly.

Luanne’s burial and celebration of life will be at Arlington National Cemetery on May 8. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your favorite charity.