Carolyn Kay Ravenscroft Smith, who taught math at WSU Pullman from August 1989 to May 2014, passed away Dec. 7, 2017, surrounded by her children at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.
Smith was born July 22, 1944, to Vernon and Harriett (Burkhard) Ravenscroft in Moscow and grew up on the family farm in Tuttle, Idaho. She graduated from Hagerman High School and the University of Idaho with a degree in mathematics.
During her freshman year at the UI, Carolyn met William A. “Bill” Smith. The two were married Dec. 26, 1964, next to her family Christmas tree. They went on to live in Libby, Mont., Waimea (Kamuela), Hawaii, and Moscow, Idaho. Although the couple later divorced, they made many wonderful memories while raising their four children.
Over the years, Carolyn volunteered with many organizations, including Meals on Wheels, Campfire, 4-H, Moscow Sister Cities Association, Moscow Arts Commission, Emmanuel Lutheran Church and the Steel House Board of Directors. She enjoyed reading, sewing, needlework, gardening and travel. And, she took every opportunity to explore the United States and world with her family.
Carolyn’s vocation was teaching. She completed a master’s degree in teaching in mathematics at the University of Idaho in 1985, and she went on to a 28-year career as an instructor in mathematics, first at the University of Idaho and then Washington State University, where she retired May 15, 2014.
She is survived by her four children: Jennifer (Raymond) Wallace, of Moscow, Stephanie (Eric) Childress, of Dalton Gardens, Idaho, Brant Smith (Jennifer Cornell) of Raymond, N.H., and Joanna (Andrew) Todd, of Elmhurst, Ill.; as well as her nine beloved grandchildren: Adam, Claire and Owen Wallace; Samuel (Crystal), Ian (fiancée Renee), Abigail and Emelia Childress; and William and Alexander Todd. Carolyn is also survived by four siblings and 10 nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and an infant sister.
Gifts made in her memory are encouraged to: Emmanuel Lutheran Church, The 1912 Center Windows Project, KSPS TV, or Red Cross Disaster Relief.
