Vicki Clift Smith

Vicki Clift Smith returned home on May 28, 2022. She was 77. Vicki was born on December 21, 1944 in Juneau, Alaska to Roy G Clift and Doris Montgomery Clift. She was the second oldest among five siblings and the only daughter. She spent the first 12 years of her life growing up and experiencing the wild beauty of Alaska. She had a pet deer and a pet crow and would go camping with her father and older brother at a lake near the Mendenhall Glacier. The family would often visit Heber, Utah, where most of her relatives lived. It was on such a visit that her older brother, Steven, was killed in a tragic accident, which devastated Vicki and her whole family.

Vicki was an exceptional student with talents in the creative and performing arts. She was in drama, learned to play piano, and had a great singing voice, which she used throughout her life; especially in her favorite church callings — in ward choir and as a primary chorister, music leader, and choir conductor. In her teen years and as a young mother, she began to paint and became a very accomplished painter in watercolors and acrylics. She was also an accomplished seamstress. Her artistic paintings, quilts, clothing, and ceramic dolls adorn the homes of her children and other relatives and friends.

She attended Bountiful High School where she met her husband, Larry Smith, in her junior year. They were married a year later in the Salt Lake temple after she beat him in a miniature golf game where he said, “I’ll marry you if you beat me at this game.” He played for his life and she did too – she won with three or more holes in one. Vicki and Larry settled in Providence in Cache Valley and lived there until Larry took a position in New England. The family moved to New Hampshire and after three years, moved back to Providence to be closer to family and later to Centerville to reside in the home she spent her youth in. She was a New York Yankees fan while the rest of the family cheered for the Boston Red Sox. But she always wanted to watch the World Series, no matter who played.

Vicki was the mother of nine children: Adam, Andrea, Marielle, David, Erin, Jared, Alexa, Meghan, and Ashley. We all loved her as a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She had 30 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren at her passing.

She was a voracious reader and a great storyteller. Vicki knew a lot about her ancestors and shared many stories with her family. When asked what counsel she would give her family, Vicki said, “Tell the stories. They are so powerful!”

Vicki loved people for who they were and conveyed hope to everyone. She was a defender and a safe keeper of all God’s creatures. She taught her children to respect and love everyone from anywhere.

She served two missions with Larry for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She loved serving others and cheered others’ accomplishments far more than her own.

Vicki was preceded in death by her mother, Doris, father, Roy, and brothers Steven and Bruce. She is survived by her husband, Larry Smith, brothers Brian Clift (SusAnn), and Mark Clift (Jeff), children Adam (Monica), Andrea, Marielle Carmack (Quinn), David (Laura), Erin Ethington (David), Jared (Sara), Alexa Christley (Erich), Meghan Gomez (Nephi), and Ashley Carroll (Michael).

She lived a life of love and she was greatly loved!

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at the Centerville 3rd Ward Chapel, 900 South 400 East, Centerville, Utah, where a viewing will be held Tuesday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. and Wednesday morning 9-9:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment will be held Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Heber City Cemetery.