Barbara Smith has enjoyed living in sunny Moab for the past 32 years. Very independent, though limited by a mental illness, she enjoyed daily excursions downtown. She loved the hustle and bustle of Jeep Safari, and enjoyed stopping by the Moab Diner, 7-Eleven, The T-Shirt Shop, Back of Beyond Books, Office Equipment, GearHeads Outdoor Store, Joyce’s Color and Cut Salon, and several other local businesses. Barbara was generous in nature and loved to buy gifts for her great-niece and nephew and others. Her family would like to thank the merchants for treating her with kindness, respect and patience.
She was born Barbara Diane Louthan in Moline, Illinois, on July 13,1939, to Helen Margaret Collings and George Ross Louthan. She was second in the family with three brothers: Vincent, Phillip and Bruce Douglas Louthan. When she was a teenager her parents divorced and her mother remarried. She gained a stepbrother, James Patrick Seedorf. She spent many hours taking care of Bruce while her mother was at work.
Barbara completed four years at Illinois Wesleyan University before deciding to join the Army. There, after several years, she experienced the onset of a disabling mental illness.
She lived in Salt Lake City, near her mother for a time, making a new start, working part-time, and changing her name to Barbara Smith. She later lived in Hawaii with her mother. It was upon her mother’s death in 1986 that she moved to Moab to live with her brother Bruce and family. She moved into the Virginian Apartments in 1992, still near her brother, and was surrounded by caring neighbors.
Barbara is survived by her brother Bruce Louthan (Vonda); stepbrother James Seedorf (Donna); sister-in-law Barbara Lynn Louthan; nieces and nephews Lisa Talbot, Bruce Jr., David, John, and Paul Louthan, James Seedorf Jr., Melissa Collins, Barbara Alynn Louthan and Alexandra “Sasha” Tocio. Also many great-nieces and nephews.
There will be a viewing on Saturday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at Spanish Valley Mortuary. Funeral services will follow on the same day and place starting at noon. There will be a graveside dedication after the funeral at Sunset Garden Memorial Cemetery in Moab.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.SpanishValleyMortuary.com.
