Original content Copyright © 1998-2004 Christopher Smith.  READ THE DISCLAIMER & PRIVACY POLICY!

THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORIES OF:

JOYCE ARDELLE (JACOBSEN) SMITH (August 19, 1930 - October 13, 2004)
WILLIAM KIMBERLY SMITH (September 29, 1953 - November 30, 2000)   Tribute page
WILLIE JOE SMITH, TSgt, USAF (Ret) (December 12, 1925 - July 3, 1983)
WILLIAM EDGAR REAVES, MSgt, USAF (Ret) (May 3, 1918 - January 23, 1999)

Christopher's Family Page!

PAGE INITIATED:  FEBRUARY 5, 2000.

LAST UPDATED:  OCTOBER 13, 2004!

"A good exercise in journaling." -- Kim Smith, October 2000

Meet the people nearest and dearest to me:  My Family!

UNCLE ED & AUNT PEARL | Dad | Mom | My 'Sibs'! | The 'Next Gen'!

WILLIAM EDGAR REAVES, MSgt, USAF (Ret) ('Ed')
Born:  May 3, 1918, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
Died:  January 23, 1999, Atascosa County, Texas; killed by a drunk driver.

Ed is buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas.

PEARL G. REAVES
Born:  January 26, 1918, Milton, Pennsylvania.


Mom, Uncle Ed and Aunt Pearl Reaves on the Paseo del Rio (Riverwalk), San Antonio, TX, February 16, 1993.  Photo taken by
me, using my Samsung AF480R camera and Kodak Gold 400 film. Click here to see Ed & Pearl at home that day.

Ed, you were very much loved by my Daddy; so much so, that he unofficially adopted you as part of our family in 1946, when you were stationed together at Andersen Army Air Force Base, Guam (Andersen AFB).  You took Daddy, recently married with his first son on the way, under your wing.  You were two of the charter members of the United States Air Force when the National Defense Act (which created the USAF as a separate service) became law on September 17, 1947, fulfilling the prophecy of General Billy Mitchell, and drawing upon the heritage of General Henry 'Hap' Arnold and the Army Air Corps/Army Air Force from World War II.  You followed Daddy several places after that, and because he worked in Accounting & Finance, he always knew when you were coming in.  Kelly AFB, Malmstrom AFB, and Ellsworth AFB were just three of the tours you shared together, and Mom warmly embraced you and Pearl, as well, when she met you at Ellsworth, forming a bond of friendship and family that continued to the day you died (and still continues with Aunt Pearl).

Daddy retired a few years before you did, and you visited us each summer from 1969-1971 when we were in West Carrollton (Dayton), Ohio.  You retired in 1970 with over 31 years of active duty military service, mostly at Fort Sam Houston and Kelly AFB, right in your birthplace city.  I still recall the camper you drove to visit us, and how little almost-5 year old Christopher slept in the camper on Aunt Pearl's lap in 1971!

Distance kept us apart for too many years.  The occassional letters we received from you and Pearl over the years brightened Mom's days, as she struggled to raise Sis and me as a separated parent.  Daddy passed away in 1983, and we lost most of our contacts to our friends from his USAF years.  You and Pearl were still there.

We strengthened our ties again in 1987, when I found out I was going to follow Daddy's footsteps and join the USAF.  January and February of 1988 were hectic at Lackland AFB, but you took me under your wing, as you did with Daddy 42 years earlier, and showed me around San Antonio and spent time with me, getting to know me again, and refreshing the faded memories of my youth from your Ohio visits.

I followed your footsteps into the Supply career field, and fate brought me back to San Antonio, for a permanent party tour of duty at your old stomping grounds, Kelly AFB, where you had retired nearly 20 years earlier.  The 17 months I was stationed there, we really got to know each other, and kept the far-flung branches of the family up to date.  We had a lot of fun times further exploring San Antonio and South Central Texas, and even a jaunt to Houston with an Ohio USAF buddy of mine who drove down from Austin so we could watch the Bengals get routed by the Oilers. LOL :-)  We also had fun on Tuesday and Friday nights, when we played bingo with your friends at the Knights of Columbus hall on Ray Ellison Drive.

The last time we saw you was February, 1993, when I took Mom on a classic road trip to see family and friends, and spectacular scenery, from Montana to Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, and old Route 66 in Arizona and New Mexico, before turning southeast through the 'Texas Hill Country' and our destination, San Antonio; and returned to Montana via Carlsbad Caverns NM, Denver, and Boise.  We met you again at Jim's Restaurant, near the Westlakes Mercado mall, and warmly embraced each other.  It had been nearly 22 years since Mom had seen you two, only 3.5 years since I moved, but we spent at least three hours catching up on old times and new.  The waitress was in awe that our bonds had endured that lapse in time.  The few days we were able to spend there will always live on in our memories, and in Aunt Pearl's as well.

The last time we heard your sweet Texas-accented voice was Thanksgiving, 1998, and Mom and I spent over an hour talking to you and Pearl.

We heard the terrible news 4 months after the accident, Memorial Day Weekend, when we talked to Aunt Pearl.  We had just found out I was being promoted to Daddy's highest rank, and called to pass along the news.

Somehow, Ed, I think you pulled the strings with God to help me get that stripe, as your Base Commander at Kelly did when you went up for MSgt the last time, and finally made it.

We miss you VERY much, Uncle Ed!

God blessed our family with your love, friendship, and guidance for over 50 years.  You made a lasting positive impact on our lives, and we shall always remember you very fondly.  Thank you so very much for being our friend, and an everlasting part of our lives! :-)

May God bless all my friends with someone as special as you.

Uncle Ed & Aunt Pearl | DAD | Mom | My 'Sibs'! | The 'Next Gen'!

WILLIE JOE SMITH, TSgt, USAF (RET) ('Bill')

Born:  December 12, 1925, Miami, Oklahoma.
Died:  July 3, 1983, Springfield, Missouri.

Dad is buried at Howard Chapel cemetery, three miles east of Urbana, Missouri.


(Then) SSgt Willie J. Smith at Dhahran Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, circa summer 1952.

Daddy, I wish I could say more positive things about you.  I knew very little of you after age 6, except for the summers you would spend helping Mom take care of Faith and me.

Yet, many of my gifts came from you, my prowess in things mathematical and computing being the biggest ones.  You were on the cutting edge of computer technology as the Air Force started computerizing its accounting and finance records in 1962, and I can still recall Mom's recounting the late nights you would work at the office as you managed both manual and computerized records, and tried to get the programming gurus at NCR to get the bloody software right!  That legacy is carried on by yours truly.  My love for road trips and driving (and better truck stop food) also came from you.  My skills in working on and driving cars came from watching you in action.  Even though Macular Degeneration would claim your central vision, your peripheral vision was still so sharp, you could parallel park a car better than any fully sighted person!

You brought Ed and Pearl into our lives, and for that, we shall always be grateful.

You served your country well for over 21 years as a member of the Army Air Force, and as one of the charter members of the United States Air Force, enlisting at age 17 to become a tail gunner, and after WW II ended, becoming one of the best accounting and finance specialists.  Your career included stops at three bases in a row that my own career would parallel, differing only in duration.  You were one of the first airmen to serve a remote tour of duty at Dhahran Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from mid-1951 through 1952.  The best photos we found of you are from this tour, and I have scanned one for this page.  You met the current King when he was Crown Prince, and you captured him on film (a photo which I will scan later).

You were very devoted to your mother and all of your siblings, one of the last 'real' rednecks out there.  If anyone insulted your mother's honor, you would let them have it with both fists.

It's very ironic that only your death would bring all five of your children together for the first (and unfortunately, only) time.  Even though Sam and Andy & the three of us had different mothers, the Smith sense of humor, 'thunder thighs', 'bubble butts', and 'round mounds' easily told where we came from.

For all your faults as a person, you did manage to pass on practical advice and hands-on training to the five children you fathered, and for that, we all thank you.

And last, but not least, Thank you for letting me live, even when I was being very misbehaved.  :-)

Uncle Ed & Aunt Pearl | Dad | MOM | My 'Sibs'! | The 'Next Gen'!

JOYCE ARDELLE (JACOBSEN) SMITH

Born:  August 19, 1930, Dagmar, Montana.
Died:  October 13, 2004, Kalispell, Montana, of cancer.   :-(



Mom at Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, February 10, 1993.  Photo taken by me using my Samsung AF480R camera and Kodak Gold 400 film.

Mom, what can I say about you?  Well, you risked it all to keep Sis and me together with Kim in one house.  You struggled with raising us as a separated parent from the time I was 6 years old.  We had a lot of pain and strife (and a lot of fights) over the years, but we all survived to tell the tale!  And we became better people, as a result.  We learned just how important the family is.  May we always remember that lesson you taught us. :-)

You fought the odds your whole life, especially when you learned in late 1965 that I was soon to arrive into this cold, cruel world.  I was very much a surprise to you and Daddy! LOL :-)  In a state where abortion to save the mother's life was legal (long before Roe v. Wade), you stuck to your principles, and carried me to term.  We both survived, surprising and amazing Dr. (Capt) Alvin Snyder no end! :-)  Unfortunately, the odds were too stacked against you this last time.   :-(

The 1993 road trip was a very special time for us.  You went places you never thought you'd see, did things you never thought you would, and renewed family ties that time could never erase.  You met your first Step-Great Grandchild, Angel Marie (Tandy's first!).  You walked inside the great Hoover Dam, which was the civil engineering marvel (then called Boulder Dam) of your early childhood.  You stood in awe overlooking the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, which I had seen for the first time 10.5 years earlier.  You renewed your ties with Ed and Pearl in person!  :-)  You got to see The Alamo and the other 4 San Antonio Missions, which you missed during your brief one month tour in 1953.  You got to tour the Boyhood Home and Ranch of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the sitting President when I was born.  You had an all too brief tour of the Nimitz Hotel and Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas, birthplace and home of the legendary WW II Admiral, Chester Nimitz.  You walked inside the great natural wonders of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.  And we passed through the Craters Of The Moon National Monument in Idaho, which you missed seeing during your bed-ridden two month stay in Mountain Home, also in 1953.  I'm glad God gave us the chance to do this, and I will always remember that trip to my dying day.  And I knew you'd always remember that overlook at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, when you dared to wear shorts in February! LOL :-)

I would never have been here, or achieved what I have in my USAF career, were it not for you being there for me whenever I needed someone to talk to in my days of dark despair and loneliness.  You were more than just my mother; you were also a best friend.

I shall be eternally grateful for all you have done for me.  Thank You, Mom! :-)

You will be greatly missed by all of us.

Uncle Ed & Aunt Pearl | Dad | Mom | MY 'SIBS'! | The 'Next Gen'!

SAMUEL LAFAYETTE SMITH ('Sam')
Born:  October 22, 1946, Fort Dodge, Iowa.

ANDREW LYNN SMITH ('Andy')
Born:   February 4, 1948, Merced, California.

Elaine (Dad's first wife), Dad, Andy, and Sam, circa summer 1948.  This photo was taken outside their mobile home in Arvada, CO.


Me with brother Andy, at Tandy's house in Englewood, CO, November 28, 2000.  Photo taken by Tandy, using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom Camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.

Sorry for the older photo, brothers!  LOL  More current ones will be scanned soon.  :-)  Even though we have different mothers, we share a common bond.  You greeted our Mom with open hearts and a lot of love, and we have all stayed in touch over the years, and later on, one or the other of you would visit us either in Ohio or in Montana.  And for a few short days in July, 1983, the five of us siblings came together to remember the man responsible for bringing us into this world.

Even though you have a 'half-' in front of it, you are our brothers in every sense of the word.  You are always a part of our whole family, and mean the world to Faith and myself, and were very much loved by Kim, as well.  :-)

SAM:  You were born during Dad's tour in Guam, and your mother, Elaine, returned home to Fort Dodge, where you were born.  We have shared the most time with you over the years, as you would settle in Chicago following your Army service through ROTC, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, Corps of Engineers.  During the '70s, you came to visit us four times in Ohio, and we ventured up to Chicagoland five times from 1973-1980.  You and Kim would always be working on cars or restoring the classic house you bought in Saint Charles, including an epic Midwestern thunderstorm while you were reroofing that house in 1976.  We still remember how covered in wet black tar the two of you were, and no one dared to touch you... LOL

ANDY:  You were born right before Dad and Elaine moved to the former Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado. After Dad & Elaine divorced, she stayed and remarried there, and you have spent almost your entire life there.  Dad and Mom kept in touch with you over the years, keeping our family ties very much alive.  When we moved to Montana, we finally got a chance to meet you when you and your wonderful daughter, Tandy Sue came to visit us in 1981 (in Mom's case, to see you for the first time since you were younger).  Every time we pass through Denver, we always have a place to to stay.  We all love the family times we can share when we are together.  :-)  My 6 week tour at Lowry in 1988 was less painful, because I was able to spend time with both you and Tandy.  I finally got to meet your mother during that trip, and Elaine is still every bit as wonderful as I had heard from Mom.  You and Elaine still play bridge tournaments together, and that's one card game you promised to (but as of this writing, yet to) teach me, dear brother...  :-)


WILLIAM KIMBERLY SMITH ('Kim')
Born:  September 29, 1953, Great Falls AFB (Malmstrom AFB), Great Falls, Montana.
Died:  November 30, 2000, Kalispell, Montana, by suicide.

THERESA ANN (REYNOLDS) SMITH ('Tess')
Born:  December 17, 1957, Missoula, Montana.

Kim and Tess were married May 17, 1980, Spokane, Washington.  Until death, did they part.

PRISCILLA FAITH (SMITH) TOPP ('Faith')
Born:  July 25, 1961, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota.

HAPPY 39+2st BIRTHDAY, Sis!  :-)


Faith (Sis), Tess (Sis-in-Law), and Kim (Bro) at Faith's house, December 24, 1999.
Photo taken by me, using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.

NOVEMBER 30, 2000:  The dynamics of our family have been irreparably altered.  :-(   Kim chose to check out of life prematurely, despite all the love we gave.  The cost of the loss is incalculable, the pain we all feel will take years to subside, and the emptiness we all feel inside shall never be filled again.  Someday we may know all the answers, but let me say that Kim's life was not one lived in vain, that he was loved by all who knew him well, and that we shall all miss him very much.

I have preserved the September 1, 2000 version of this page for perpetuity, recalling what he meant to us.

Our tribute page to Kim.

FAITH:  Sis, my words alone can never adequately describe how important you are to me.  But I can at least try...  You played 'mediator' whenever Kim wanted to make me his whipping boy, even when I really did deserve a beating.  LOL  :-)  You and your trio are very near and dear to me, and my time stationed close to home allowed us to strengthen that bond.  You four hold a very special place in my heart and my life, and you always will.  I luv ya lots, Sis!  :-)

Mom taught us by example just how important the family is.  May we never forget that lesson. :-)

TESS:  Let us not forget you!  We welcomed you into our family the day before Mt. St. Helens erupted, and we all helped Aunt Martha clean up the ash it left behind!  Your sense of humor and wicked skill at pinochle fit in so very well with us, too.  LOL :-)  We stood with you through all of your problems, and stood beside you as we helped you help Kim through his.  We were also with you as Kim survived a close call with the Grim Reaper on July 17, 2000, and his unexpected suicide November 30.  We've had our share of fights with you, but we stuck together.  We'll do our best to help you through this.

Uncle Ed & Aunt Pearl | Mom | My 'Sibs'! | THE 'NEXT GEN'!

TANDY SUE (SMITH) HILL
Born:  February 22, 1970, Denver, Colorado.

Tandy, Nana Joyce, and Angel Marie, at the Best Western in Henderson, NV, February 6, 1993.  Photo taken by me, using my Samsung AF480R Camera and Kodak Gold 400 film.


A not so camera-shy Tandy, standing in Nana Joyce's dining room, Kalispell, MT, on July 18, 2000.  Photo taken by me, using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom Camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.


Angel Marie dishes up Country Crock for her corn at Nana Joyce's dinner table, Kalispell, MT, on July 17, 2000.  Photo taken by me, using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom Camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.


Ian James Hill and daddy Steve, as Tess looks on from Nana Joyce's dinner table, Kalispell, MT, on July 17, 2000.  Photo taken by me, using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom Camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.

OK, Tandy, what do I say about you?  You made me an uncle at the very tender age of 3.5 years (minus 3 days), and we met for the first time when your Dad and you drove up to Montana in 1981.  Because we are so close in age, you are like the younger sister I never had, and our ties have grown stronger over the years.  You shuttled me around Denver when I was at Lowry AFB in 1988, and I am grateful for that.  :-)  I was the only one from our branch of the family who made it to your first wedding in December, 1991, and your Aunt Kathy and I hatched a plot during the reception to reunite my Mom with Elaine and your Daddy's step-sibs when we came through during our 1993 road trip.  Not to mention giving us our first visit with your first child, Angel Marie (pictured here, although your camera shyness kept you in the background - LOL).  :-)  Your return trip to Kalispell in July, 2000 was a wonderful visit, as everyone else finally got to meet Angel, and your 2nd hubby, Steve, as well as little Ian James.  We now have more recent photos to share with everyone, and your smile is just as infectious as it was when Nana Joyce & I first met Angel.  (The proof is plain to see.)  And I owe you a great debt of gratitude not only for your kind words about these family pages, but also for filling in some of the gaps in the family timelines.  LOL  :-)

STUART WILLIAM SMITH ('Stu')
Born:  March 9, 1973, Saint Charles, Illinois.

MILES HENRY SMITH
Born:  May 21, 1976, Saint Charles, Illinois.

Stuart and his wife (then fiancé) Julie at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, MN, July 17, 1999, as Stu talks to Nana Joyce.  Photo taken by me using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom Camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.

Sam & Norma's 'boyz'!   I'll add more about you two later.  :-)


ADAM FREDERICK TOPP ('Ad')
Born:  May 18, 1985, Spokane, Washington.

CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM TOPP
Born:  May 27, 1989, Spokane, Washington.

JENNIFER JOY TOPP ('Jenney')
Born:  June 10, 1991, Kalispell, Montana.


Adam, Jenney, and Christopher at Sis's house, December 24, 1999.  Photo taken by me,
using my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom Camera and Kodak Gold MAX 800 film.

OK, now I have to say something about you three!  :-)  'Sis's Trio' is the shorthand I use to describe you.  You three are a very important part of my life, three miracles God has blessed us all with.  I am the very much adored 'Uncle Chris' to you, and I have helped your Mom take care of you (and provided discipline when necessary) in her times of greatest need.  I also correctly predicted your genders before you were born.  :-)
Uncle Chris adores and loves all three of you very much.  :-)

AD:  You were born on the 5th Anniversary of Mt. St. Helens' eruption, and as is traditional in the family, I made a joke about it. LOL :-)  I recall barely being home from Dayton only two weeks when Nana Joyce and I got the call that your Mom was going into labor.  We raced from Kalispell to Spokane, and waited it out.  Your Mom wanted the doctor to give her a Dr Pepper enema, too, as I recall. LOL :-)  When you arrived, you came out with a broken collarbone, and the nurses were very careful about who they let in to ICU to see you.  
I was the very First one of your Uncles and Aunts ever to hold you in their arms!
I will remember that moment to my dying day, as will Nana Joyce and your Mom.  :-)

CHRISTOPHER:  Not only did I correctly predict your gender, but also the day of the week (Saturday) you were born!  And for once, I got your stubborn Mom to listen to her little brother, and she named you after both of her brothers.  (VBG)  I got to hold you the first time in March, 1990, after I moved to Idaho.  Looking at you growing up reminds me so very much first how I looked when I was your age, and now much like your Uncle Kim.  :-)

JENNEY:  Ever since your Mom was a teenager, she said that when she had a daughter, she would name her 'Jennifer Joy'.  She did, too.  (VBG)  I first held you in my arms just a few weeks after you were born, during the 4th of July weekend, 1991.  In so many ways, you are your Mother's daughter, with your looks being #1 on that list so far.  :-)