Jun. 25, 1958 - Jun. 8, 2024
Date of Service: Jun. 15, 2024
Service Program
BURLEY – Tami Smith passed away on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at Sandstone Millcreek in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 65 years old.
On June 25, 1958, she was welcomed into J. Dale and Lois Western Smith’s family as their fifth child in Burley, Idaho. She was followed in the coming years by two sisters, a family of six girls and one boy. Her parents later divorced, and her mother moved to Mesa, Arizona, where Tami attended grade school and junior high.
Her father remarried and she and her siblings came to live with their father and new mother, Suzanne Smith, and her six children – five girls and one boy. She now had a blended family of 13. It was quite a stir when they moved into town with eleven girls and two boys. She enjoyed family vacations, activities, and involvement in church activities.
Tami was a gifted artist, had a clear melodious singing voice and was secretary of Bel Cantos at Burley High school. Tami loved dancing. She loved social events, school, family, and church. Tami graduated in 1977 from Burley High School. She was looking forward to pursuing a future as an artist. She wanted nothing more than to marry and have a family of little ones. She was very active in the Young Adult program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On July 15, 1978, all of Tami’s plans changed abruptly. She was in a serious car accident while on her way to a church activity. She was thrown from the car suffering a traumatic brain injury. She lay in a coma for six months. She eventually awakened little by little. She was never the same. She spent months at a rehabilitation center in Utah. Over the coming years she was lovingly cared for by her second mother, Suzanne Smith. Tami was able to work at Deseret Industries for many years. But eventually she was unable to continue.
While Tami’s post-accident was not the Tami we knew, yet there were certain things that never changed: she had a testimony of Christ and loved going to church; she always had a great sense of humor; she loved to read; Tami never gave up on her dream of getting married; and she was always adventurous. Many remember her riding her adult tricycle all over Burley with her little dog, Heidi, in the front basket. She would stop traffic as she crossed the bridge spanning the Snake River.
After the death of her mother and father and the declining health of Suzanne, her stepmother, Tami went to live with her sister, Arleen Vaughn, in South Jordan, Utah, for eight years. As her health deteriorated, she was moved to Woodland Park Assisted Living (now known as Sandstone Millcreek).
Tami was preceded in death by her father; both mothers; two sisters; two brothers-in-law; and three nephews.
She is survived by ten siblings; 61neices and nephews; and countless great-nieces and nephews, with more to come.
Tami’s funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 15, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints– Burley 3rd Ward, located at 2200 Oakley Ave., in Burley. Family and friends will be received for a viewing one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Valley Vu Cemetery in Malta following a family luncheon.
The family would like to thank all who have helped care for Tami over the years and who will take part in her funeral services. Special thanks to Arleen, Kathleen, Cheryl and Ione.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home of Burley.
