(Christie),+Carol+Smith


 * Carol (Christie) Smith--deceased**

**1969: **Received BA degree in English from UW in 1963. Karen Finley and I moved to San Francisco. There I worked for 3 years as a secretary. I returned to Washington and attended WWSC to obtain an elementary teaching certificate. I have completed a year’s teaching at LaConner Grade School. I have a son, Doublas, age 3 years. **1979:** My Canadian husband (acquired summer of ’71) took me into the Far North where we endured seven icebox winters. I was employed by the Edmonton, Alberta (think Oil) School Board as an Early Childhood Instructor. We made our exit last summer. We have settled in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, BC. Our 12 year old son, Doug, is into soccer, trains and fishing. I am presently employed with the Delta School Board (half-time teacher). You can find me in the garden any afternoon. All the best to my classmates South of the Border. **1999:** Greetings to my classmates. After the 1979 reunion my family (husband Newell and son Doug) and I moved from Richmond, BC, to the quieter community of Tsawwassen. I rang up the final years of my teaching career in 1996. Twenty-seven years of service. I reveled in the opportunity to retire and re-invent myself. My explorations have been in the art field—I’m an active painter and photographer. After a year’s search we chose a home on Pender Island in the Southern Gulf Islands of BC as our retirement sanctuary. Our home has a sweeping view to the south of Stuart Island and San Juan Island in Washington, across a myriad of smaller islands to the town of Sidney, BC on Vancouver Island. Carol Christie Smith, beloved wife of Newell Smith, passed away at her husband's family home in Victoria, BC on July 15, 2007. She bravely survived seven months after surgery for a brain tumor. Carol was born August 12, 1941 in Portland, Oregon, grew up in Seattle and graduated from Mount Vernon High in 1959.
 * --obituary (Skagit Valley Herald)**

She attended Skagit Valley College and the University of Washington, and later Western Washington University, obtaining early childhood education certification. Carol's quiet, ever positive and appreciating manner had a wonderful influence on her kindergarten students over her 27-year teaching career, including three years with the La Conner School system (1968-1970). She also taught in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1978 the Smiths returned to the west coast, and Carol spent the remainder of her teaching career in the Delta School District in British Columbia, retiring in 1996.

Upon retiring, Carol and her husband, Newell, soon moved to Pender Island, BC, where she concentrated her energy on her art, and as an artist she explored and mastered many different media and approaches. Her works range from photography, including Poloroid transfers, Chinese brush painting (she studied under Margret Chin for ten years), acrylics and collages. Influenced by Kaz Tanahashi, she experimented extensively with strong elemental stroke paintings within the Zen tradition.

On Pender Island, she served on the executive board and as president of the Pender Island Arts Society and as president of the Trincomall Community Arts Council. She contributed to many other organizations and was a founding member of Hope Bay Rising and the Red Tree Gallery. Residint on Pender Island for the last ten years, Carol's many contributions and untiring generosity to the local community will be intensely missed.

Throughout her life, Carol was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener and observer of nature. She enjoyed hiking and beach outings, always deeply appreciating the beauty of the natural world. She had a wide circle of friends and loved spending time with them.

Carol is survived by her husband Newell of 37 years, her sister Christie Nelson of Stanwood, her son Douglas Smith and his wife, Malu, and the twin grandchildren, John and Christina ("I want to be an artist like grandma"), of Richmond, BC, and her cousins Kathy Shearer and Ken Moore of Skagit County. She was a loving and devoted daughter to her late parents, Walter and Gladys Christie of Mount Vernon.