Events
Memorial Service
Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E Dimple Dell Rd/10600 S, Sandy, UT 84092Saturday Oct 12, 2024 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Interment
Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E Dimple Dell Rd/10600 S, Sandy, UT 84092Saturday Oct 12, 2024 3:30 PM
Memorial Service
Chubbuck Idaho Stake Building 450 James Avenue, Chubbuck, ID 83202Saturday Oct 19, 2024 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Our dear Linda Arleen Martin Smith of Chubbuck, Idaho passed away peacefully on September 22, 2024, in Pocatello, Idaho at the age of 81. Born July 4, 1943, in Provo, Utah, she was the only daughter of Jeradean Pritchett and Leno Martin. As a child, she thought she must be a big deal for the whole country to celebrate her birthday with fireworks each year.
She had four brothers; and as children, they enjoyed many adventures together. When she was twelve, her young father passed from bone cancer, which was a difficult challenge for her. As a young adult, she was a ballroom dance instructor for the Tony DeCarlo Dance Studio at the University of Utah. In 1964, Linda met Monte Wayne Smith and his three girls in Sunday services in the Canyon Rim Ward in Salt Lake City. They were later married on July 22, 1965, in the Logan Temple. Together they raised and fostered ten children and later cared for her mother in the welcoming Salt Lake neighborhoods and suburbs where they lived for 44 years.
Linda often had multiple projects on the front burner, side burner, and back burner of life, such as sewing clothing, sharing home-cooked meals, organizing the house, and taxiing children to school, sports activities, music lessons, and recitals for organ, piano, or clarinet. When the youngest children started school, she worked as a docket clerk for the state legislature, and later as a bookkeeper for a dental lab, a receptionist for Nighttime Pediatrics, an office assistant at Intermountain Healthcare, and on the office staff for the Salt Lake County Surveyor. In 2008, Linda and Monte moved from Cottonwood Heights to Chubbuck, Idaho into a wonderful neighborhood where they have lived for 17 years.
Linda found great comfort and inspiration in attending church services and watching the construction of the temple in Pocatello. She was also a devoted fan of BYU-TV where she loved listening to sermons and stories that provided encouragement and strength. She fought a long battle with Alzheimer’s, but often made the effort to smile. She once penned, “My Father’s greatest gift to me was his smile and reminder that smiling helps me feel better...I assume as [his] pain was taken away and the Savior came to hold him close, he smiled.” She will always be remembered for her smile, her laugh, and how she interacted with her family and close friends.
Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Leno and Jeradean; her brother, Loren; and her daughter, Lanette. She is survived by her husband, Monte; her brothers, Larry, Wilson, and Keith; her children, Mona (John), Tina (Jerry), Michael (Marie), David (Lisa), Tami, Becky, Dan (Misty), Amy Lankford, and James Lankford (Sarah); as well as 31 grandchildren and 45 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in Utah on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 2:00 pm at Larkin Sunset Gardens located at 1950 East Dimple Dell Road (10600 South), Sandy, UT 84092. Interment will be at the Larkin Sunset Gardens Cemetery at 3:00 pm. Another memorial service will be held in Idaho on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at 2:00 pm at the Chubbuck Idaho Stake Building on 450 James Avenue, Chubbuck, ID 83202.
To watch a recording of the service, please click on the tab above that says "Watch Service" or follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/CqBJqUfNZdZb7WW7N6yeNUeqy1nbonX2xAPW7eYGZ7eIlVTPDMDOrouEIt-TWg30.-GDbxH1p4CX89BYT?startTime=1728762185000
Guestbook/Condolences
Thought of Larry, Keith, and Wilson on their beautiful and only sister Linda:
Larry’s thoughts: One of my most impressive thoughts about our sister Linda is when she came to me and said I'm going to marry Monte, and he has three children, and I'm going to love & care for them which I already do. And as she spoke, I thought our sister is "Amazing", and that turned out to be true. Our sister Linda was and is "Amazing" .
Keith: I remember Monte calling after my missionary farewell in 1965, for his first date with Linda, and the happiness I felt when I received the wedding picture of Linda, Monte, Mona, Tina, and Lanette. Besides the love Linda had for her new family, she had four life-long qualities I wish I had practiced before the past few years: 1) She expressed her love to everyone and she looked at the top three things a person did right rather than the the bottom three things they did wrong, 2) She thanked others. Linda always gave me multi thanks when I visited her. Now I’m doing the same to everyone who helps me care for my wife Trisa, 3) She praised others. Linda always made me feel smart, whether I was a struggling student in High School or receiving a PhD from the University of Utah. 4) Linda had stronger faith in the Savior and our Heavenly Father than I have. I’m still striving to become as strong as she was. I love my sister Linda and you her family and friends. Thank you for all you've done for my sister. You are a all fantastic. I love you for all for the kindness you gave my beautiful sister during the last and hardest times of her life.
Wilson’s thoughts: My dear brother Keith, I have had many thoughts about how my sister treated me, but one thought came to mind and that is my early life. I thought the celebration for the Fourth of July was for my sister and she deserved it. She was always kind, forgiving and the best big sister one could ever have. May the Lord be with her family and know that she is loved and missed.
Grandma’s House❤️
Grandma’s house was its own little world—
Family BBQs, smoke rising with laughter,
Picking apples, pears, and grapes in the backyard,
Sprinkling salt on snails, a silly tradition.
She gave us chores and a few dollars,
Teaching that hard work could still be fun.
Visits felt like magic.
Sleepovers in my own room,
Exploring the secret tunnel
From the washroom to the garage,
Movies in the theater room.
The picture wall on the stairs
Telling the story of our family.
If it was Sunday, we went to church—
Her faith, steady as ever.
The 4th of July belonged to her—
Fireworks will always remind me of her.
We went on lunch dates,
Field trips to farms and a taffy factory,
Library trips to borrow computer games,
Hours spent in Grandpa’s office,
Time slipping away too quickly.
She was always there—
At baptisms, graduations, weddings,
Piano recitals, choir concerts—
Always proud, always watching.
She ahhed in delight after a drink, winking. And I’d copy her joy.
“You have a heart-shaped face,” she’d tell me,
Like it was something important.
She was there for 5th grade grandparent day,
And always had Grandma Sycamore’s bread in the kitchen—
I loved it there.
She took care of me when I was hurt,
Always gentle.
The only time she was ever stern
Was when I wouldn’t leave her house,
The place I never wanted to leave.
I remember trying on her wigs,
I remember her smile.
I remember singing in the kitchen together.
Her hugs, the best I’ve ever known—
Wrapping me in warmth,
Endless laughter and love.
A place I’ll always carry with me.
Linda my cousin, I loved your smile. You made me feel welcome. Thank you at age 15 for tending me as 4yr child while my parents Dave and Virginia Martin went on vacation 3 days. You ponytailed my hair everyday and introduced us to artichokes! We had fun times on your birthday 4th of July at Liberty Park. Later you helped give me a wedding shower with Mary Lee and Marilyn. Then a year later, you taught me the best ways to feed my 1st brand new baby, Jeremy. I remembered it with my 7 children. Thank you Linda for visiting me with Marilyn and Mary Lee to clean my home when when my baby Julie Ann died of SIDS.
I'm sad our lives did not entertwine often, because I do love all my cousins from Grama Ruby.
Love, Beth Ann Martin Griggs Roberts