Laurie Lynn Smith

Laurie grew up in Stonington, Connecticut and graduated from St. Bernard's Catholic High School in 1969. After graduation, she attended the College of Santa Fe and later graduated from New Mexico Highlands University, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree. She worked in banking and wallcoverings in her early career, but ultimately found the greatest gratification in working with Dallas County Adult Probation. She believed that even the most seemingly unlovable people deserved a second chance and redemption.

Laurie and her late husband, Richard, fell in love 42 years ago and were inseparable from the start. They loved taking spur-of-the-moment weekend trips that often began with a random point on the map. They loved camping and hiking with their dog Sammy and visiting the Florida coast. Scenic New England and Santa Fe, New Mexico were their favorite vacation sites.

She was an adoring wife and loving mother that was generous with her heart, words of encouragement, and strength. She had a hilarious sense of humor that is remembered by all that knew her. She was quick with a quip and had the best jokes. She is also remembered for her sense of compassion. She would often buy treats and trinkets for children that she would see longing for at a store. She trumped many a parent's "no" in the grocery store line. She is well known for saying and instilling the value, "You never regret doing the kind thing." She never met a stranger, and would readily start a conversation in waiting rooms and with restaurant servers. Restaurant servers were always treated with a piece of birthday cake when she was celebrating a birthday party at a restaurant, even if it wasn't her birthday. She was always thinking about the happiness of others.

Laurie loved God. She was a practicing Catholic and served in the church. She taught religious education to teens in preparation for the sacrament of confirmation. She later was a sponsor for adults seeking to become Catholics. She, further, taught her children about the love of God and modeled the love of Christ with her generosity and compassion.

Laurie is survived by her daughter, Andrea Rincon; her son, John-Carlos Ortiz; son in-law, Marcos Rincon; and her grandchildren, the joys of her life, Damien Guadalupe, Carlos Allan, Daniel Vincent, and Gloria Isabelle.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Shirley Smith; father, William Smith; her sister, Karen Smoger; and brother, John Thornberg.

Visitation for Laurie will be held on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Grand Prairie Funeral Home, 733 Dalworth Street, Grand Prairie, Texas 75050. Rosary Service will take place at 6:00 PM. Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 12:30 PM at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 2910 Corn Valley Road, Grand Prairie, Texas 75052. Interment will follow at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grandprairiefh.com for the Smith family.