Betty Jean Eby Smith

Betty Jean Eby Smith was born on a cold winter’s day on January 13th, 1928. She was born on a Friday the 13th and believed this day and number to be personally lucky for her from that day forward. She was born at the Eby family home at 845 W Lucy Avenue in Salt Lake City on the couch beneath the second window on the East side. She was the 4th child of Fred and Matilda Eby.

While she was a young child, she fell gravely ill when a doctor removed her tonsils with dirty instruments. Without the aid of antibiotics during that time, she had a strep throat infection for well over a year. She was slowly nursed back to health by her devoted mother who had her continually drink black tea and gave her a healing blue light she was instructed to look at for hours. With love, prayers, tea, light and determination, she pulled through it and had a great love of black tea and the color blue for the rest of her life.

She was a life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and while growing up spent much of her time in the old Cannon Ward and at South High School where she graduated in 1946. Shortly after graduating, she began working as a retail clerk at ZCMI in Salt Lake City. It was here that she met the love of her life, Stanley Smith. She often delighted in telling the story about how his friend kept coming in to ask her out and she kept telling him no. One time, when he dropped by to say hello again, he brought his friend Stan along with him. The next time he came around asking for a date, she told him “I don’t want to go out with you, but you bring that Stan Smith back here to ask me out.”

Stan did come back and ask her out. He fell in love with her and wrote to her while he was away serving an LDS mission in Hawaii. Upon his return, they began dating again and it wasn’t long before she accepted his proposal of marriage. Once committed, she would have followed him to the ends of the Earth and beyond – and did.

They were married and sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple on April 7th, 1952, by Spencer W. Kimball and welcomed the first of their children in 1953. They would go on to have five children all together (Stanford, Sonnalee, Selda Jean (Jeannie), Kimball, and J Tod) while moving from Utah to Alaska, to Oklahoma, to Georgia, and to Alabama before settling once more in Alaska. When their youngest was not yet two years old, Stanley unfortunately met an untimely death in a flight accident while on assignment for the National Guard in Alaska in 1962. This would change the family’s trajectory forever.

The family moved back to the Salt Lake Valley and the children were split amongst a few relatives for care while Betty Jean stayed with her sister and they tried to get her well. Having suffered an irreparable blow, Betty Jean had fallen into a period of deep depression and wouldn’t eat or drink much or leave her bed. In complete despair, she wanted to follow her husband into the afterlife. It was only at the visitation and behest of her daughter, Jeannie (Selda), that she was able to snap back into the world for her children. She often remarked that her daughter had saved her life during that time. She was a loving and affectionate mother who had nothing but great pride in her five children and considered them to be her greatest accomplishments in this life.

She was also able to share the joy of the many births and marriages of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces/nephews, and great nieces and nephews and always delighted in meeting and visiting with them. She was always physically active and loved driving her 1989 Pontiac bright blue firebird back and forth between St. George and Layton where each of her daughters lived.

Taking in the outdoors was a particularly happy endeavor when going places with awe-inspiring views that made her feel to be in the presence of God. She loved going for car rides once she couldn’t drive any longer and would frequently say how she now understood why her aging mother had always enjoyed going for drives. She was bowled over by scenic Utah.

She’ll be proudly remembered for her simple, childlike faith and testimony of the gospel, for her smile and beauty, her love of laughter and sense of humor, her affectionate nature, and her perseverance and strength. Even in the worst of health, she could still give the nurses a run for their money. When informed that she was likely in the dying process, her first reply was “well, maybe I need to go see the doctor.” She never gave up on trying to get better.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband (Stanley Smith), parents (Fred and Matilda Eby), three sisters (Erma, Dorothy, and Avis), one brother (Fred Jr), two children (Kimball and Sonnalee), and countless other family members and friends. Prior to her death, she especially looked forward to the coming reunion with her husband, children and mother again.

Betty Jean passed away peacefully on the morning of September 3, 2025, when the spirit of her husband finally came to welcome and usher her to the other side. She exited this world ready to leave behind the pain and step into the light of heaven. She felt greatly loved by her family and friends and worthy to receive all of God’s blessings.

She is survived by her sister (Annie Sandwick), three children (J Tod & Frannie Smith), (Jeannie (Selda Jean) Marsell), and (Stanford & Rosalie Smith), and her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews and many other family members and friends.

Services to celebrate Betty Jean’s life will be held at the Greyhawk Ward church at 2375 E 3225 N, Layton, 84040 on Friday, September 19, 2025. There will be a viewing from 9:30-10:30 am, services at 11:00 am, interment at the Salt Lake City Cemetery between 12:00-1:00 pm and return to the Greyhawk Ward church for luncheon at 1:30 pm.

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