Deborah Lee Smith

Debbie was born in Minnesota to Leo Joseph and Marjorie Helen (Pils) Wallace. The family moved to Oregon when she was just a baby, living for a time in the town of Marion before settling for good in Salem. Debbie grew up with four sisters and they were all very close. She graduated from North Salem High School. Through a friend, Debbie met Robert Smith and the two were married on October 14, 1972. It may not have been love at first sight, but Bob and Debbie had a love that stood the test of time. The two were married for 46 wonderful years. Debbie LOVED to work – job, kids, yardwork, cooking, cleaning – she always kept busy. As a sophomore in high school, she began working at the regional office for State Farm Insurance Company doing data processing. Out of high school she went to work for State Farm full time. She quit for a few years after the kids were born but ended up back at State Farm when Bob was able to stay home with the kids. She quit one more time for a short period, but once again ended up back at State Farm. Debbie was the only person that the regional office hired three times – she was that well liked and admired for her work ethic. At home Debbie was just as hard a worker. She was up at the crack of dawn, drank her Pepsi, and was ready to get on with her day. After her work day at State Farm, she would come home and cook, clean, sew, take care of the yard, and tend her family. She was an incredibly kind and loving woman and never had a bad word to say about anyone. Her can-do spirit can be summed up in her favorite quote by Rosie the Riveter, “We can do it!”, which was such an inspiration to her daughter, Jamie. It seems there was nothing Debbie did not excel at. She and her sisters were raised to work hard and accomplish anything that needed to be done. Debbie was known to tackle home improvement projects from tearing down a wall and moving it to replacing a toilet! She was a talented artist and created beautiful oil paintings. Her home was always immaculate, and so was her yard. Debbie was an avid gardener and her beautiful yard was the envy of all of the neighbors. She was just as meticulous with her beloved Toyota Corolla which she kept in mint condition even at twenty plus years old! Debbie also loved dogs and they loved her. Most of her married life she had dogs, and they meant the world to her. She would not even spend a night away from them and could not stand the thought of taking them to a kennel overnight. When she did take a moment to sit down, Debbie liked to read. Stephen King and horror books were her go-to genre, and she passed that interest down to her daughter. Debbie enjoyed being “Grammies” to her four grandchildren. Her family was her life, and she was theirs. She was preceded in death by her parents. Debbie is survived by her husband Bob; children Jamie Anne Smith (Isaac) Ellis and Shawn Michael Smith; sisters Kay Marie Hanson, Suezanne Ellen (Dennis) Tipton, Linda Ann Suniga, and Christine Wallace; sister-in-law but more like sister Mari Jackson; and grandchildren Michael Shidler-Smith, Cailtin Ellis, Deborah Smith, and Timothy Ellis.