July 30, 1934 to December 4, 2013

Janice (Bentley) Smith, 79, died December 4, 2013 at the Hospice of North Idaho  Hospice House in Coeur d’Alene. 

She was born July 30, 1934 to Doris (Green) and Elton Bentley. The family moved to the experimental forestry station near the current Honeysuckle campground when she was three years old. She had many fond memories of growing up in the Coeur d’Alene national forest, where she and her twin brothers were experts at getting into trouble and worrying their mother. Her family later built a home on the Spokane River and she attended Post Falls high school. 

She met Peter J. Smith when they were best man and maid of honor at another couple’s wedding. They were married the following year, January 18, 1953. Janice and Pete worked and taught in the Pullman, Washington school district for many years. During this time they loved fishing, picking huckleberries, camping, and playing pinochle. After retirement, she and Pete traveled full time and then settled back in Coeur d’Alene in 1999. They loved to drive around the lake or into the  woods to see eagles, wild turkeys, deer, and an occasional moose or bear.

After the death of her husband, Peter J. Smith in 2003, Janice lived for ten years at Emeritus in Coeur d’Alene, ID. There she met Clarence Olsen, who became her beloved companion until he died in 2011. 

Janice is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law Scott Smith and Cathy Sandstrom, Boise; Kenneth and Karen Smith, White Bear Lake, Minnesota; daughter Sallie Smith, Coeur d’ Alene; brothers John Bentley, Coeur d’Alene, and Jim Bentley, Juneau Alaska; and grandchildren Caitlin Smith-Frevert, Devin Smith, Courtney Smith, and Tynan Smith. 

A memorial service will be held in the spring of 2014. Contributions can be made to Hospice of North Idaho, 9493 N Government Way, Hayden, ID 83835. Visit Janice’s online memorial and sign the online guest registry atwww.englishfuneralchapel.com