Kelly Louisa Smith

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful beloved mother and nanny, Kelly Louisa Smith.  Kelly passed away Jan 12, 2025, in Grande Cache AB at the age of 66 surrounded by those that loved and adored her.

Kelly is lovingly survived by her 3 daughters Calandra Smith (Michel), Cheyenne Nelson, of Grande Cache Alberta and Courtney Smith (Grant) of Leduc Alberta.  She is also survived by her grandchildren who she adored and cherished, Kiera (Lane), Jalyne, Bryden, Isla, Layne and Kashton.  Kelly is remembered by her brother Paul Smith (Gail), sister-in-law Betty Wood (Frasier), sister by choice, Vangie Wiseman (Robert) as well as nieces and nephews, family and friends and co-workers.  Kelly was predeceased by her parents Robert and Patricia Smith and her brother Shannon.

Kelly was born on May 9, 1958, in Oshawa, Ontario.  She was talented, stunning, spiritual and a brilliant writer, she had a beautiful voice, wrote songs and poetry and lit up every room with her beautiful smile. Kelly had such a bond and love for animals, she adored her childhood horse Charlie, her Siamese cat for 19 years Camille and her beloved companion Terrior puppy Tosh and her grandpup Sadie. She worked as a pharmacist assistant before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Waterloo.  Shortly after graduating she moved out to Alberta in 1988 with her 2 young daughters Calandra and Courtney.  Alberta is where she completed her family by welcoming her  youngest daughter Cheyenne and starting her professional career.  Kelly started as the FCSS receptionist in Grande Cache in 1997 and soon after was promoted to Executive Director of the FCSS in 1998.   

Kelly was involved in the creation of so many programs such as Grief and Loss, Creative Kids Pre-school, the Grande Cache Labyrinth, Parent Place Parenting Support Resource Center, Community Resource Library, Early Intervention, Respite, Homecare, a full time ADDAC office in Grande Cache and developed the first ever Community Resource Guide and built bridges with other organizations like CALC, Mental Health and the RCMP and formed well developed strong relations with the aboriginal community receiving the Milton Joachim Memorial Award of Excellence for her tremendous contributions to the people of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Grande Cache in 2005.  Kelly was then promoted to FCSS Senior Management of the Wellness and Recreation, Culture, and Heritage department, encompassing FCSS before leaving Grande Cache in 2010.

Kelly moved to Penticton in 2010 for 3 years where she quickly became very well known in the community as the Director of the South Okanagan Seniors Wellness as well as writing a reoccurring article about women over 50 for the Encompass Magazine.  She loved the Okanagan and enjoyed these years semi-retired, making many new friends and just enjoying life.

Kelly's next adventure brought her to Sylvan Lake in 2013 where she accepted the position of FCSS Manager where she continued with her lifelong passion of helping others.  She remained in Sylvan Lake until she retired in 2022 as the FCSS Director. During her time there she did an outstanding job of bringing grant funding into the community primarily through Parent Link and the Family Resource Network as well as the Elder Abuse Prevention Program and Community Helpers.  Kelly was also instrumental in conducting the first ever Social Master Plan for Sylvan Lake and received the Provincial FCSSAA Award of Excellence for the Town of Sylvan Lake in 2019 for her outstanding work and contributions to the Community.  Her work peers and staff became her family who she loved dearly and mentored.  

Kelly had another passion in life, spending as much time as she could with her grandchildren who she adored and cherished.  She decided to take early retirement to move back to Grande Cache to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren in 2022.  Kelly still had knowledge to share even though retired it didn’t take her long to join the Board of Directors for the Grande Cache Medical Board.  With her experience as Executive Director she built GCMCC Policies and procedures as well as Board and HR Manuals.  She provided sound guidance and showed a steadfast commitment to the community and the board.  Kelly also accepted a part time position at the Tawow Center through the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation where she was instrumental in getting the AWN and Tawow Community Center several grants including an Action Against Elder Abuse program, a Reconciliation Liaison project through Alberta's Ministry of Education and most recently after her passing we learned her last project she was working on was granted, the KOCIWIN project through the Government of Alberta's Indigenous Community Support Fund which will provide the community of Grande Cache with a crisis Management Coordinator and a Family Violence Prevention Coordinator.

Kelly was the best mother and nanny so wise and loving and a confident to all her girls and grandchildren, always there for them and was so proud of each and every one of them.  She could be spotted at the hockey arena watching years of figure skating and hockey games and at the baseball field seated in the bleachers cheering on the little ones.  From sleepovers, dinner dates, movie nights, cuddles all the time and caring for them when they were sick to singing them to sleep camping to reading and sharing stories, she cherished every minute with them and always commented on how blessed she was to have this time with them.  They loved their nanny dearly she was also their best friend whom they shared everything with.

Kelly was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in August 2024.  She fought hard to stay while accepting her diagnosis with grace and faith that her time on earth was not the end of her journey but only the beginning.  Kelly's time on earth was not wasted.  Kelly was kind and caring and an advocate for so many people.  She gave so much of her time in her life improving the lives of others and making communities a better place.  She fought hard for everything she believed in always going over and beyond.  She has left lasting imprints of her achievements in every community in which she lived, particularly Grande Cache, Sylvan Lake and Penticton and will be deeply missed by everyone that was fortunate to know her.

Please join us in remembering Kelly a beautiful women and soul on Saturday May 10, 2025 at 11am at the Golden Age Club in Grande Cache Alberta.  Please feel free to come and share your beautiful memories of our beloved mother and nanny.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kelly Louisa Smith, please visit our floral store.