Jacilyn Doreen (Reiner) Smith – July 26, 1937 to December 24, 2017

Jacilyn Doreen (Reiner) Smith, age 80, passed away peacefully at home in Bremerton on Sunday afternoon, December 24th, 2017, after a valiant battle with Alzheimer’s and cancer. Jaci was born on the family homestead in Monroe, Washington on July 26th, 1937, to Jacob and Doris (Austin) Reiner. She grew up in the Tualco valley, surrounded by extended family, and graduated from Monroe High School in 1955.

In 1956 Jaci’s cousin introduced her to a guitar-playing sailor from Texas. She and Richard Smith were married on April 21st, 1957. And then her travels began! Their daughter, Robyn, was born in Corpus Christi, and their twins, Rik and Bekki, were born in El Paso, Texas. After two years in Bamberg, Germany and a year in California, their youngest daughter Kelly was born back in Monroe. Jaci continued to travel throughout her life, taking family road trips across the country, a Caribbean cruise, and trips to France and Greece—anytime the car door opened, Jaci and Dick were ready to go!

Music was an important facet of Jaci’s life. She was an accomplished pianist, always playing Christmas carols for family sing-a-longs. She also sang lovely harmony with Dick as he sang and played his guitar. Their duet on “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” was a favorite of family and friends, and they often sang together at parties and events. Jaci’s strong alto voice could also be heard in the congregational singing at the churches she attended over the years.

Jaci was always involved in her kids’ lives. She was a leader of her daughters’ Girl Scout troops, their 4-H adviser, and enthusiastic supporter of the kids’ music, theater, rabbit raising, horsemanship, and school activities. She was an excellent seamstress, making most of the girls’ clothes. When they were all grown up, she turned her creative skills to quilting, and made many beautiful (and prize-winning) quilts up until the last year of her life.

Although she had worked off and on as a bookkeeper, when Kelly was in high school Jaci decided to fulfill her life’s dream by returning to college and earning her AA degree in Interior Design from Bellevue Community College. After many years owning and operating a successful design business, and a few years as a quilting instructor, Jaci retired and focused on her family and her quilts.

Jaci was preceded in death by her youngest brother, Alan Reiner. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Richard Smith, her brother, Dale Reiner (Charlene), and her children, Robyn May (Dan), Rik Smith (Koren), Bekki Zimmerman (Dave), and Kelly Hixon (Kevin).  She is also survived by ten grandchildren: Nathanael May (Misty), Megan Vaughn (Jason), Mindy Anderson (Daniel), Jake Hixon (Katie), Ben Zimmerman, Katy Zimmerman, Joey Hixon, Matthew Zimmerman, Chad Smith, and Jessi Hixon, as well as three great grandsons, Ezekiel, Atticus, and Caleb, and another on the way. She is also survived by many cousins, brothers and sisters in law, nieces and nephews, and many friends and church family members.

A memorial service will be held at Lewis Funeral Chapel in Bremerton, Washington, on Saturday, January 6th, at 1:00 PM. Memorials may be made in Jaci’s name to the Hospice team that helped the family through these last weeks: www.chifranciscan.org/harrison-foundation/make-a-gift-today.