Victoria Smith

May 19, 1935 — May 12, 2006

Victoria Smith died peacefully in the home she loved and shared with her husband, Alan. She was a wife, mother and grandmother.

Victoria was a woman born with more ambition than 10 women put together. She lived life to the fullest. 

She enjoyed doing so many things, especially creating things with her hands, such as stained glass, (her home was filled with beautiful stained-glass windows and lamps). She loved pottery and book binding and scuba diving, snow skiing, ice skating and riding horses with her girlfriends in Friday Harbor.

Victoria lived in Seattle, Wash., for most of her life. She and her husband, Alan, moved to San Juan Island in 1997. They shared their time between their home at Eagle Cove and their second home, in Yuma, Ariz. They had recently purchased a big truck and camper, hoping to do a lot of traveling. 

Victoria was always challenging herself. In her 50s, she decided she wanted to become a pilot and get her pilot’s license. So she did, and even received her commercial license. She purchased her own Cessna 172, which she flew all over — to Mexico, to Roche Harbor, or just to fly her granddaughter, Shauna, to Bremerton to get an ice cream cone.

 

Victoria spoke fluent Russian, Portuguese and Spanish and was learning French. In the early 80s, she took a leave of absence from her job as a bookbinder, and got a real estate license and sold real estate for one year. She was also a ham radio operator using Morse Code.

Victoria is survived by her husband of 43 years, Alan; her sons, Michael Stempak, of La Conner, Wash., and Tony Stempak of Seattle, Wash.; and Tony’s children: son, Anthony George, and daughter, Shauna Nicole. Shauna would have given Victoria her first great-grandchild in November.

Victoria is also survived by her beloved Pups, Bonnie and Tika.

Victoria will be deeply missed by all the many friends and family who knew and loved her.

“Bye, bye, Mama.”

— Family of Victoria Smith