ALMA L. SMITH

Obituary

Obituary

A memorial service for Alma L. Smith, a Shafter resident for 60 years, will be held Saturday, May 2nd at 11:00 am at the Wasco United Methodist Church, under the direction of Peters Funeral Home. Rev. Scott Allred, Rev. Timothy Robnett, and Rev. Eileen Kuehnl will officiate. A private burial service took take place on Friday, May 1st at the Shafter Cemetery.
Alma died on March 28th at the age of 93 in Portland, Oregon, where she had been living for the last 7 months with her daughter, Sharon, and family. Alma was born on April 24, 1915, in Mountainaire, NM. She spent the majority of her next 30 years in the Phoenix, AZ area. After graduating from Peoria High School in 1933, Alma trained as a secretary and eventually secured a job in the State Land Department in Phoenix. She worked there until 1942 when she enlisted in the Navy and served as a WAVE during WWII. Soon after discharge in 1946, Alma met E. Gordon Smith at a young adults church group meeting. They were married at First Presbyterian Church in Phoenix on January 19, 1947. The next year, Gordon accepted a position at the U. S. Cotton Research Station in Shafter, and they moved to California. During the next 20 years, Alma was a homemaker active in her church and in various school-related activities.
After Gordon died in 1969, Alma returned to the work force as a secretary for Shafter attorney, Al Mortimore. She became involved in the Shafter Woman's Club and the Wasco Rose Society, serving each organization for many years with her secretarial skills. After her retirement, she enjoyed going with the local AARP group on many trips, as well as traveling around the country and around the world with other friends. Alma was a charter member of the Shafter United Methodist Church and remained a faithful member until it disbanded. She then she joined the United Methodist Church in Wasco and attended regularly until her move to Portland. Alma is survived by her daughters, Sharon Robnett and Eileen Kuehnl, their husbands,Tim Robnett and Ken Kuehnl, and her grandchildren, Joel and Kate Robnett and Karen Robnett. A sister, Mary Shipley of Canton, Texas, also survives her.