Helen Holbrook Smith

Click below to listen to the funeral service. Available until June 26, 2017.

Our angelic Helen passed away on March 22, 2017 from injuries sustained in a fall due to the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease.   Her loving family was by her side.  We are eternally grateful for her example of courage, perseverance, and patience as she battled this disease for 20 years.

Helen was born on August 17, 1948 in Salt Lake City, Utah to L. Dale and Beverly Holbrook.  She grew up in Clearfield.  Helen’s family moved to Salt Lake City when she was in ninth grade.   She attended Skyline High School and the University of Utah where she was a member of the Lambda Delta Sigma sorority.  Helen enjoyed serving as the inter-chapter secretary and later as a sorority adviser.  Friendship was important to Helen.  She was a loyal and loving friend.  She was filled with unconditional love and in return, no one was loved more than Helen. 

Helen earned a degree in elementary education.  She taught 2nd grade at Taylorsville Elementary School before deciding to leave to focus on her family.  She later returned to the classroom teaching preschool.  Her students called her Miss Helen, a term of endearment that followed her throughout her life.  She taught for 14 years, influencing the lives of hundreds of children.

On June 10, 1970 Helen married her eternal companion, Bruce Marshall Smith, in the Salt Lake Temple.  As best friends they experienced many adventures together including rides on their tandem bicycle and snowshoeing in the mountains.  She loved to travel and visited 22 countries.  They built their home in East Millcreek and had five children:  Tricia (Jay Gustin), Stacey (Gerrit Timmerman), Stirling (Rachel Maddux), Stephen (Angela Thueson), and Lindsay (Abraham Sloan).  They have 15 grandchildren with the 16th due in May. 

Being a mother was one of Helen’s greatest joys. She created wonderful holiday traditions for her family and together they attended countless theatrical productions and U of U football games.  She was their advocate, their teacher, and their friend.  The only thing she loved more than being a mother was being a grandmother.  Time spent with Grandma Helen was magical.  From vacations to Yellowstone, Disneyland, San Diego, and Bear Lake to one-on-one sleepovers, her grandchildren cherished every moment they spent with her.  She cuddled the babies, read to the toddlers, played with the kids, and texted the teenagers.  She loved her grandchildren to the moon and back and they loved her. 

Helen loved the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She diligently served in the Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society organizations.  Helen and Bruce served as missionaries in the Salt Lake Inner City Mission from 2005-2007.  Helen loved attending the temple and reading the scriptures and would often find strength, solace, and guidance within those sacred pages.  The selfless way she lived was a testament to Christ and she touched the lives of all who were blessed to know her.

She is survived by her husband of 47 years, five children and their spouses, 15 grandchildren, a sister Tamara, and brothers Rick, John, and Tom.  Her parents preceded her in death.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at 11:00am at the Rosecrest 1st Ward, 3101 South 2300 East. Friends and family are invited to visit Monday evening 6:00-9:00pm at the Holbrook Mortuary, 3251 South 2300 East, and at the church Tuesday morning 9:30-10:30am prior to the service. Interment at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. Guestbook to post messages and tributes for the family available at: www.HolbrookMortuary.com