Mom was born on March 25, 1943, in Downey, California, to Marv and Maybelle Brauser. She grew up in sunny Southern California, graduated from Downey High School, and married our dad, Steven M. Smith, on January 21, 1961. They were just kids–kids who grew up together, built a life together, and created a home filled with laughter, chaos, and four very strong-willed daughters.

In the early 1970s, Mom and Dad uprooted our California lives and replanted our family in Brigham City, Utah. There, they co-owned J & S Cycle, a Honda dealership that always smelled like gasoline, motor oil, and possibility.

Mom loved softball, and a huge part of our childhood was spent at the ballfields–sticky in the summer heat, cheering her on. She also shared a love of motorcycles with our dad. One of our favorite “only our mom” stories is the time she strapped youngest daughter Stephanie onto the back of her motorcycle and drove her to the emergency room for stitches. That was just Mom–resourceful, fearless, and absolutely one-of-a-kind.

She made holidays magical. Most years, we packed up and headed to Southern California to be with family. Her Christmas stockings were legendary–overflowing with treats and surprises that made us feel like the most loved kids on earth.

Mom adored music, even though she was wonderfully, hopelessly tone deaf. She wanted so badly to sing that she took private voice lessons from Rosemary Matthews and practiced with determination–but the right notes never quite came her way. She sang anyway, and we would argue over who had to sit next to her in church, worried we’d be the ones people stared at while Mom belted out her off-key hymns. It was embarrassing then–but now it’s one of the many “only Carolann” things we laugh about.

Our parents had the best group of friends in Brigham City. We spent countless nights and camping trips with the Ropers, the Singletons, the Rasmussens, and others–families who felt like extensions of our own. And Mom passed on her love of authentic Southern California tacos; they remain our lifelong comfort food.

Later, mom and dad moved from Brigham City to Riverdale, Utah. Mom worked at Weber State University in the Honors and Bachelor of Integrated Studies programs. She even went back to school herself, earning her associate’s degree. She became a loyal Wildcat fan, volunteering for Athletics and traveling everywhere–including Hawaii–to support the teams.

Mom was an artist, and we cherish the beautiful pieces she created. Every hobby she took on, she dove into with her whole heart–and, let’s be honest, her whole pocketbook. She loved design, loved sunflowers, loved our annual Lake Powell trips, and above all, she loved our dad. He treated her like a princess. We called him “the great enabler” because he never told her no. We like to imagine him in heaven now, picking up right where he left off.

Mom and Dad loved riding their Harley motorcycles together. On one of those trips, everything changed. A deer jumped in front of Mom’s bike, causing a horrific accident. She was life-flighted to Billings, Montana. She survived, but the traumatic head injury took a little piece of her that never fully returned.

In 2021, Alzheimer’s began its slow, painful work–stealing memories one by one. During those years, we learned how to meet Mom wherever she happened to be–sometimes in reality, sometimes somewhere else entirely. We became experts at improvisation, and we found small moments of sweetness in the middle of a very hard road.

When Dad passed in 2023, our oldest sister, Rhonda, made him a promise–that mom would never go to a nursing home, that she would always be cared for by her family. Rhonda kept that promise with fierce, unshakeable love. She moved Mom into her home, rearranged her entire life, and carried the heaviest part of the journey. We are forever grateful for the compassion, patience, and devotion Rhonda showed Mom every single day.

Mom leaves behind four daughters: Rhonda Jean Merryweather, Kelly Ann (Tom) Stackaruk, Jenny Rebecca (Kerry) Walker, and Stephanie Lynn (John) Craghead; sixteen grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. She is reunited with Dad; her parents; her in-laws, Dorothy and Edwin Smith; her brother Larry; her sisters-in-law Marcia Brauser and Linda Boyd; and, most importantly, her precious Bella Boo.

And because it mattered to her–it must be said–Mom really loved cherry pie.

We miss her. We always will. But we’re grateful she has her mind back, that she’s whole again, and that she’s with Dad–exactly where she always wanted to be.

We offer a special thank you to mom’s dedicated caregiver Norma Platten.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Leavitt’s Mortuary & Aultorest Memorial Park, 836 36th Street in Ogden, with a viewing from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Interment at Washington Heights Memorial Park.

Condolences may be shared with the family at www.leavittsmortuary.com.