Earletta T. Smith

Earletta Smith, 82, of Indianapolis, IN and Sedona, AZ ended her long battle with Parkinson’s Disease surrounded by family on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 in Indianapolis, IN. She was born to Earl and Harriett Cherry (Reecer) Taylor on June 20, 1940. Mrs. Smith is survived by her beloved husband of 61 years, Larry D. Smith; children Taylor Smith (Carolynn Brescka) and Darra Ellis, and her cherished granddaughter Joelle Smith. Left with decades of fond and colorful memories are her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Richard and Barbara Smith of Denver, CO, eight nieces and nephews, as well as friends too numerous to count. Besides her beloved parents, Earl & Cherry, Earletta is predeceased by her brother Ray (US Navy WWII), her niece Judy and her dearly loved pets Gidget, Sashi, Muffin, Carson and Maddie.

Earletta was the daughter of avid outdoor adventuring parents. In the 1940s, her father made the acquaintance of Ernest Hemingway on a hunting trip. When Earletta was a young girl she recalls the Hemingways visiting her parents hunting cabin in the Northwoods of Wisconsin to celebrate with a toast and be photographed with a black bear. Earletta loved nature, she loved mountains and pine trees, she loved water. She often recounted moments alone by the fire at the family cabin in Wisconsin where she would read and imagine all the beauty that the world had to offer to everyone.

Earletta was formerly employed in the 1960s at the FBI and shared many fond memories over the years with her fellow coworkers and agents, including warm correspondence from J. Edgar Hoover himself who was in the habit of writing her letters of congratulations for important milestones. Earletta stayed close with her FBI family for many decades and had many wonderful friends from her time with the Bureau until the day she passed.

Earletta was generous with her time and over the years volunteered for many organizations, including the Indiana School for the Blind, and she led her family in demonstrating the qualities of compassion and service.

Earletta and her husband Larry traveled the world, in the beginning, for their careers and then later to share it with their children. After her career at the FBI came to a close with the beginning of her family, Earletta traveled with her husband as often as she could with his private airline club, Voyager 1000, acting as first class airline hostess, European tour guide and Hawaiian master of ceremonies for all of their friends and guests. Earletta was an expert at flying, cruising, ordering obscure local delicacies and walking the four corners of the earth, and she blushed every time she was mistaken for Sophia Loren in Capri, Rome or Casablanca.

Earletta and Larry were enchanted by the southwestern high desert surrounding Sedona, AZ and spent many years there as residents of the beautiful Red Rock Country. Earletta was a creative, kind soul who had a gifted talent for the arts. She painted and drew some of the most beautiful and realistic portraits which she shared with her friends and family. During her time in Sedona, Earletta also found joy in repainting antique furniture in the colors and designs of the old southwest and gifting them to friends and neighbors.

She was a wonderful cook. She believed that there should be 10 creative recipes for every single day of the year. She was famous for making a new dish every day of the week and Larry was responsible for giving the thumbs up or the thumbs down. Even if it got the thumbs down, it would go back into her rotation of recipes until a sufficient time had passed allowing everyone to forget, at which time she would make it again.

Upon hearing the news about Earletta, traders on Wall Street became jittery and there was a sharp sell-off in the maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Earletta was perhaps the single largest consumer of her favorite candy and currently prospects remain uncertain across major markets.

Earletta was feisty until the end. She wanted everyone to know she had a good run. Clearly she got her money’s worth from this life.

A celebration of her life will be held on Friday, November 11th at the home of Taylor Smith & Carolynn Brescka, Indianapolis, from 4-9pm. Please contact the family for more information. The family is forever in debt to the kind nurses, doctors and caregivers at Traditions of Solana and Community North Hospital. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Indiana Parkinson Foundation or the Michael J Fox Foundation. To share a memory of Earletta or send a condolence to her family please visit www.flannerbuchanan.com. Arrangements entrusted to Flanner Buchanan-Oaklawn Memorial Gardens.

“Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.” ~ Sylvia Plath