Ramona Louise (Cary) Smith, daughter of John and Wilma (Clay) Cary was born on the bright autumn morning of October 25, 1930, near Henderson, Iowa. She was the Cary family's second-born child and first-born girl. She passed away on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, Red Oak, Iowa at the age of 87 years, 7 months and 10 days.

Ramona enjoyed reading and painting and was especially good at accounting (and taking wise and gentle care of her brother and three younger sisters). Ramona attended Box Elder Country School, near Henderson, and graduated from Henderson High School in 1948. On February 26, 1955, Ramona was united in marriage with Virgil Smith of Coin, Iowa, located about 45 miles south of Henderson. Virgil and Ramona were both employed at the Union Carbide and Carbon Plant in Red Oak, Iowa. Following their wedding, they resided in Page County, Iowa, and then moved to their home and farm southeast of Shenandoah. Ramona's five nieces and two nephews loved this farm setting, its rolling pastures full of cows, and the couple's clapboard white house with a wrap-around porch and beloved porch swing. This was a favorite summertime home to family dinners and Sunday picnics, with nieces and nephews visiting from as far away as Oregon, Nebraska and Virginia. After Virgil's sudden death in 1995, Ramona continued to work at Vet-a-Mix/Lloyd, Inc., as the company's chief financial officer. She spent 31 years at Vet-a-Mix/Lloyd, Inc., and is remembered as a hard-working, gentle-humored professional with a knack for numbers. In the fall of 1995, Ramona sold the farm and moved to Red Oak, Iowa, to be near her ailing mother, Wilma. After Wilma's passing, Ramona sold her Red Oak house and moved to Regency Retirement Residence, where she lived until her untimely accident and death.

Ramona was preceded in death by her parents, John and Wilma Cary; her husband Virgil Smith on December 20, 1995; her brother Pearl W. Cary of Virginia; brothers-in-law: Howard Gillespie, Max Smith and Charles Gillespie.

Ramona Louise (Cary) Smith is survived by three sisters, Deloris Jean Gillespie of Red Oak, Iowa; Phyllis J. Cary of Central Point, Oregon; and Doris M. Karloff (and her husband, Charles), of Yutan, Nebraska. Ramona is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Jeanette Gillespie of Red Oak, Iowa, and Mrs. Max Smith of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Ramona is also survived by several nieces and nephews, including John Robert "Johnny" Cary of Spotsylvania, Virginia; Linda Gandee of Central Point, Oregon; Sheryl Gillespie Bissen of Grinnell, Iowa; Monica Gillespie Fine of Red Oak, Iowa; Barb Gillespie Beals of Houston, Texas; Chad C. Karloff of Yutan, Nebraska; and her goddaughter and niece Kim E. Karloff, of Los Gatos, California.

Ramona's grand nieces and nephews include John Cary's son, William, and twin daughters, Anna and Amy; Sheryl Bissen and her late husband Duane's daughter Michelle, and sons Scott and Craig; Linda Gandee's son Josh; Barb and Ernie Beals' daughter Katie; Chad and Liz Karloff's daughter, Nicole, of Lincoln, and grand nephews, Clayton and Ethan of Yutan, Nebraska; and Kim Karloff and Larry Lenhart's son, Luke Cary Lenhart, of Los Gatos, California.

May God bless her memory and give strength to those who mourn.

Funeral Service will be held

Friday, June 8, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

At Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home, Red Oak.

Burial in Rose Hill Cemetery, Shenandoah, Iowa

Visitation with the family will be held on Friday morning at Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.

Memorial is being established in Ramona's name.

Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.