Joan Phyllis Smith

Joan Phyllis Smith, age 91, passed away June 9, 2023, with family at her side at Seton Medical Center in Austin, TX. Joan (pronounced “Jo-Ann”) was born on November 25, 1931, in Cadillac, Michigan to William Charles Rambo, Jr. and Marion Maude (McCullagh) Rambo. She married the love of her life, Delbert Frederick (Del) Smith, in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1957. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2017 just prior to Del’s passing on March 31, 2017.

Joan grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and graduated from the Butterworth Hospital School of Nursing’s 3-year nursing program in Grand Rapids in 1953. She worked at Butterworth Hospital for six months and then followed her family to Phoenix, AZ, where her family had moved for the drier climate critical to the health of her younger sister, Mary. In Phoenix, Joan worked as a Registered Nurse (RN) at Good Samaritan Hospital and soon met and married a handsome young fighter pilot named Del Smith. Sons Kevin, Wayne, and Steven were born in short order at Phoenix-area US Air Force bases while Del completed his pilot training and taught gunnery to new pilots. Del was transferred to Japan in 1962 for nuclear-alert tours of duty in South Korea and combat tours of duty in Vietnam. Joan and the boys moved with Del to officer’s housing at several US Air Force bases in Japan over a period of four years, which were home to the Smith family while Del served his country. As the boys grew older, Joan worked as an RN at base hospitals as time and children permitted. During Del’s extended tours of duty, including a year-long combat tour of duty in Vietnam while based in Thailand, Joan was the sole parent taking care of three young boys. While Del was flying combat, she never knew whether the base chaplain’s car might pull up in front of the house that day. Fortunately, Del survived the war, and his next two assignments were in Texas, with the family finally settling in Austin, TX, following Del’s retirement from the US Air Force in 1970. Del next went into the home-building business in Austin and Del and Joan both continued their great job of raising their three boys. As their boys started entering college, Del and Joan started their own custom-home-building business in 1977, Del Smith Builder, Inc., which they operated successfully until their retirement in 2002.

Joan was intelligent, with a warm and loving personality. She showed equal and unconditional love to each of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but somehow left each grandchild knowing that they were her favorite. Joan and Del were welcoming hosts and were frequently visited by family and friends, who always left feeling like they were treated as royalty by their hosts. Joan was a voracious reader of romance and mystery novels. She, like her parents and siblings, loved playing card games and board games with family, and was tough to beat at Scrabble. She loved watching classic movies with a bag of popcorn and a glass of wine. Joan was very much loved by her family and, like Del, will be greatly missed.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sister Mary Hilton, brother Curt Rambo, Sr., brother-in-law Elgee Hilton, and daughters-in-law Gayle Smith and Kathleen Smith. She is survived by three sisters Debra (Curt) Siegfried of Montgomery, TX, Lynn Hilton (Steve) Kregel of Garnavillo, IA, and Sun City West, AZ, Julie Hilton (Jim) Kuhn of Sun City West, AZ, two brothers, Paul (fiancé Gloria Hernandez) Rambo of Glendale, AZ, and Mark (Marianne) Rambo of Poulsbo, WA, sister-in-law Margaret Rambo of Tonto Basin, AZ, and her three sons Kevin (Beth) Smith of Houston, Wayne (Belinda) Smith of Montgomery, and Steven Smith of Austin. She is also survived by ten grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Joan’s family wishes to thank Clara for her companionship and unrelenting support of Joan, the staff at Brookdale Westlake Hills for their excellent care of Joan, and Mamta for her friendship with Joan at Brookdale.

Visitation will be held 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 19 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home at 5416 Parkcrest Drive. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20 in the Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel. Interment will follow at Austin Memorial Park.