Anita was born on October 5, 1937, in Timnath, Colorado. She grew up in Oakland, CA, and in 1953 she married the love of her life, Grant Smith, after only knowing him for two weeks, and they were happily married until his death in 2011. In 1959 they moved to Milpitas where they raised four children. They enjoyed participating in the Milpitas Frontier’s Days and dressed up as a saloon girl and gunfighter and adored spending time with her family. She was a homemaker and loved cooking for her family, especially during the holidays and she would make dozens of tamales to share with everyone. She was a beautician and gave hundreds of haircuts throughout the years.
Anita is preceded in death by her parents Theodore and Fernanda Rodriguez and her siblings; Mary, Nacho, Joe, Esther, Jenny, Viola, and Rachel.
Anita is survived by her brother Steve Rodriguez and her 4 children; Ross Smith, Suzi Vasquez (Tim), James “Eddie” Smith, Grant “Geno” Smith Jr (Laura); 7 grandchildren; Tim Vasquez (Andrea), Anthony Vasquez (Melissa), Joe Vasquez (Sissy), Clint Smith, Stephanie Smith, Kyle Smith (Tiffany), Erica Smith. 7 great-grandchildren; Breanna, Savannah, Gabe, Jovanni, Kurt, Grant, Wyatt. 1 great-granddaughter Adaleiya, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
