Diana Jean Oliver Smith

On Thursday, 5 December 2024, Diana Jean Oliver Smith, 80, passed away peacefully at the Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah surrounded by her husband, and children.

She left her mortal existence to reunite with her parents, Charles Colin Oliver and Alice Purnell, older sister, Sharon Patricia Billingsley, and older brother, Charles Wesley Oliver, who preceded her in death. She is survived by: her husband, Wesley Dexter Smith, their five children: Kimberly Jean Smith Nelson, Scott Oliver Smith, Tracy Roger Smith, Micah Jeremy Smith, and Ryan Wesley Smith; her sister, Sandra Oliver Ferraro, brothers Bruce and Gary Oliver, and many nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was and is a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and cousin.

A viewing will be held at the Russon Mortuary located at 1941 N. Main St., Farmington, UT 84025 Wednesday, December 11th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. An additional viewing will be held at the Quail Flight Ward Chapel located at 850 N. 300 W., Farmington, UT 84025 on Thursday, December 12th from 9:45 AM until 10:45 AM. The Funeral Service will follow at 11:00 AM. The service will be streamed by the family at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/94133163176

Diana Jean Oliver Smith, known as Diana and Jean (depending on familiarity), was born 12 April 1944 to Charles Colin Oliver and Alice Purnell. She grew up in Bountiful, Utah during the hard years of the depression. She graduated from Bountiful High School then worked for a time as a legal secretary. She held many other jobs in her lifetime, perhaps the most important of which was mother. 

Jean was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an ardent believer in and follower of Jesus Christ. He was a central figure in her life. In a time when the endowment was limited to sisters who were either getting married or who had mission calls, 20-year-old Jean received direct authorization from then President of the Church David O. McKay, himself, to enter the temple to be endowed.

She attended BYU in 1965. In the midst of a snowball fight, she met Wesley Smith, a chemistry student from Beverly Hills, California. The two married in the Salt Lake temple the following year on August 26. She served as Relief Society President in her married student ward.

In December of 1968, she gave birth to her first and only daughter, Kimberly Jean Smith. Twenty three months later, Scott Oliver Smith entered the picture blue and defiant. Tracy Roger Smith blessed the growing family in 1971. Micah Jeremy Smith appeared in the spring of 1973. The young family’s final child was born in 1975 while they lived in Madison Wisconsin.

After Ryan was born, the family moved to Normal, Illinois for four years while Wes taught Chemistry at Illinois State University. The flat lands of the midwest never set well with Jean, and she subsequently encouraged Wes to apply for jobs in the mountains and vistas of the west she loved so much.

1976 was a fateful year. Wes applied to teach at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. Unbeknownst to him, the Teton Dam failed on June 5, 1976 and flooded surrounding communities including Rexburg. Had he been successful, the family would have moved to a disaster area. However, in the tender mercies of the Lord, he was not successful in his bid; nor would he be successful for another four years.

The family moved to Rexburg in the summer of 1981. They remained in Rexburg until all 5 children served honorable missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1995, Jean accompanied Wes on a Sabbatical from Ricks College which took them to Kharkov Ukraine where he taught Chemistry. While in Ukraine, Jean was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of serving a mission despite the fact it was neither a formal nor an official mission. The two of them worked closely with the full-time missionaries in fellowshipping existing members of the church. In so doing, they were able to serve the people of Ukraine in the same way senior missionaries do elsewhere.

In 2004, after Wes retired from teaching at BYU-Idaho, the two of them served a mission on temple square in Salt Lake City. While there, they found a house in Farmington, Utah. They have lived there ever since. Jean, a child of the Wasatch front, had come home.

Throughout all of those years, Jean worked tirelessly to instill in her children and grandchildren a love of Jesus Christ and his gospel.