Obituary

Ilene Agnes Smith

March 5, 1930- March 9, 2023

Ilene Agnes Smith, 93, passed away March 9, 2023 in Worland, Wyoming, surrounded by family at the Washakie Medical Center. She was born in Newton, Kansas, March 5, 1930 to Belvin Kerry and Martha Marie (Westrup) Swing.

Ilene mostly grew up in Worland. After her mother passed, at the age of 9, she remained in Worland. Later in her teens, she lived with her siblings and extended family, eventually moving to Colorado where she graduated from College High School in Greeley in 1948.

Before she got married, she worked at Barber Photography Studio where she touched up photos and was able to utilize her artistic ability. This is also the time she found her love of black coffee and Lucky Strike cigarettes.

She married Donald Merlin Smith, May 6, 1950 in the Lutheran Church in LaSalle, Colorado. Donald and Ilene moved to Worland in 1952 and raised their two girls, Ardelle and Ruth. They celebrated 60 years together before Donald passed in 2011. During these years, she also worked for Swing Trucking and later became an entrepreneur when she started Barefoot Productions.

She was an avid reader and read to all ages with sound effects. She loved Glen Campbell and the Beach Boys. She enjoyed playing chess and was a competitive pinochle player. She loved being outdoors while swimming, water skiing, camping, hunting, gardening, collecting rocks and drying flowers. She kept a fuchsia pink rose bush in her yard for 40 years that Don had given her for their anniversary. She always called him her “diamond in the rough”. She was a talented artist, including touching up photos, oil paintings, colored pencil drawings, and wood carving. She was an excellent seamstress. She won first place in the “Make it yourself with Wool” contest and made both of her daughter’s wedding dresses. She participated in 4-H, where she taught her daughters to sew. She raced in a stock car that Don and Harry had built for her and won the Powderpuff Derby. She was also a member of the United Methodist Church and an active Doe of the Elks Club.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Belvin and Martha Swing; husband, Donald Smith; brothers, Glenn Swing, Harold Swing and sisters, Marie Housley, Helen McWilliams, Evelyn Williams, and grandson-in-law, James Stamatakos.

She was survived by her daughters, Ardelle (Sunny) Wachter of Blair, NE and Ruth (David) Dye of Worland; grandchildren: Trevor (Debbie) Brookwell of Denver, CO; Tiffany Brookwell of Anchorage, AK; Amy (Jeremy) Hernandez of Riverton, WY; Laura (Jason) Mocko of Worland; Holly Stamatakos of Worland; and her great-grandchildren: Rylan Mocko, Chauntea Mocko, Morgan Hernandez, Jon Hernandez, Allie Stamatakos, Sam Stamatakos, Olive Pai Brookwell and Ti Arthur Brookwell.

She is also survived by brothers-in-law, John W. (Roselea) Smith III of Burlington, Iowa, Robert (Terri) Smith of Greeley, CO and stepsister-in-law, Joan Smith of Evans, CO.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 AM, Saturday, March 18, 2023, at the United Methodist Church with Pastor Kayilu Pfoze officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Worland. The casket will be open at the church on Saturday from 9:30 AM until service time.

Memorial donations may be made to: Worland Senior Center, Willow Creek, or United Methodist Church and sent to PO Box 524, Worland, Wyoming 82401. Online condolences may be made at www.bryantfuneralhomeonline.com.