Josephine Uriarte Smith was born January 9th 1929 in Eureka Nevada to Louisa and Manuel Uriarte. She married Tony Smith of Salt Lake City on December 28th 1946.
Family, her Basque heritage and her Catholic faith were the cornerstones' for her life. She especially loved spending time with her grandchildren and great granddaughter. She always looked forward to visits with family from out of town, notably her son and siblings.
Tony and Jo enjoyed an active life. They ran sheep and cattle in the Ruby Mts. in Nevada and the Uinta Basin in Utah. During those years Josephine was active in the Utah Wool Growers Association. They were longtime members of Hidden Valley Country Club, where Jo loved the competition of golf and bowling along with the many social events with their friends.
Jo had a keen sense of humor and her favorite line for things that she did not believe in was "BS".
Josephine enjoyed contributing to the community by volunteering as a "pink" lady at University Medical Center, Assistance League, where she particularly loved using her bilingual abilities reading to the elementary age children in the "School Bell" program. Josephine was honored as "the Queen of Hearts" for her volunteerism at Alliance House, a club house for individuals with mental illness.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tony, her parents, siblings; Jesus, Maria, Theresa, Angelo, Louie and Violet. She is survived by her brother Daniel Uriarte (Alice) of Reno, Nevada, sister in law Beverly Uriarte, her son Frederick Smith (Barbara), daughter Debra Falvo ( Louis), grandchildren; Ian Smith (Kara), Damion Lee (Jamie), Melissa Greeno (Brad )and great-granddaughter Gabriella Lou Greeno. She was looking forward to welcoming a new great grandchild this winter.
The family would like to thank the staff and residents of Sunrise in Sandy. Josephine was a resident there for the last four years. The care and kindness of everyone truly made it a home. We would also like to thank the staff from Solstice Hospice for helping us all through the final weeks of her life.
There will be a funeral mass at 12:00 noon Saturday, October 24th 2015, St Ambrose Church, 2315 Redondo Avenue, followed by a graveside prayer at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
On Sunday October 25th the family would enjoy your company at an open house brunch from 9 am-1 pm at the social center of Lexington Village (Old Farm) 4135 South 620 East.
In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the charity of your choice.
