Maxine Smith

Maxine was a grand 95 years old when she left us for her eternal life in heaven. She is survived by five children; Robert, Duane and Barbara Stuva, Denise Lourwood and Sue Krueger. She has a dozen grandchildren that brought her delight and purpose; Benjamin, Philip, Kimberly, Stephanie, Erika, Duane, Darrin, Lisanne, Kira, Kyle, Matthew and Ryan. Great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren are a further extension of her joy. She loved them so much.

All of her descendants carry the acceptance and compassion she taught us by her example. It is remarkable to note that Maxine’s wisdom and concern for people and situations was open-minded and logical up until her illness in September. She was amazed by all the marvelous changes over her lifespan but also worried about things happening in our world.

Her Story:

Maxine was born Edith Maxine Mitchell in Brooks, Iowa in 1922. She recounted a wonderful childhood growing up on a farm with her loving parents Ben and Jesse and sister Ruth. This love carried over into the next generation when she married Dale Stuva and they started a family. Their third child Barbara was born with special needs. They’d heard from friends who had visited Portland that it had schools and programs for their daughter as well as better job opportunities, so they moved to Oregon.

This was Maxine’s first big trip, so they took their time and marveled at all the beauty of the mountains and sights along the way. They settled in southeast Portland and they welcomed their fourth child the following year. Soon after, things began to change. Her husband Dale developed a condition and it was necessary for Maxine to part ways to raise her children safely.

Strength, determination, selflessness and courage were needed to do this in a time when there wasn’t support for women. With her strong conviction and the help of a few caring friends she again made a loving home. She married Ivan Smith and her family was complete with the birth of her fifth child.

In the mid 1960’s her boys got married and started their careers and families. Her husband Ivan found himself having to return to his home state of Kansas for business reasons. Maxine chose to raise her family on her own in Oregon. This meant that she’d have to be the head of the household, look for fulltime work, get a bank account and rent a house, quickly.

It took a lot of courage, but she was frugal and resourceful and with the good Lord’s guidance and help from her sons and friends, she conquered. She raised her girls in a nice rental house in S.E. Woodstock area. She had great neighbors who became lifelong friends. Without a car, she needed to walk or ride a bus to work so she got a job at Meier and Frank in Downtown Portland. That quickly networked her to a better janitorial job at Jackson Towers (across the street.)

She made delicious home cooked meals on her $10 per week food budget. She dressed her girls in immaculately cared for hand-me-downs. Her home was filled with joy, music, laughter and acceptance. And everyone had chores to do to “keep things looking nice.” She made sure her daughter got an education and vocation training. Her children never felt unfortunate or different being from a ‘broken home’ or ‘poor’. She was a good provider.

In 1969 she was blessed with a career opportunity working for Portland Habilitation Center (PHC) as their janitor program trainer where her son Robert worked. It provided a better wage and health benefits for her family, afforded her to learn to drive and get a car.

Unfortunately, that following year, Maxine became very ill just when everything was going so well. She had rare kidney tumors that she should have died from. But Kaiser surgeon, Dr. Duckler made an heroic effort and painstakingly removed them, saving one of her kidneys. She had told him before surgery she needed to raise her family. Miraculously she recovered.

Maxine continued her career training disabled folks in building maintenance so they could earn a living. She made several very special friends that visited her house for meals and chats long after they experienced success in the janitorial program. She gave them purpose and meaning. She was inspirational and treated her students with respect and she expected the best from them. She continued championing for her daughter and wanting the best for her, too. Barbara (her daughter) worked in a sheltered workshop earning a small wage and enjoyed outings and events with her friends. Maxine made many very dear friends in the community of parents of disabled children. She had nothing but wonderful memories of the PHC family and their kids.

Family gatherings happened every holiday or “just because.” She made great holiday meals of turkey, roasts and ham. She made chocolate drop and refrigerator cookies, fudge that never “set-up”, divinity candy, porcupine meatballs and so many more tongue pleasers. Even after working hard all day, she was never too tired to see family or friends.

After a program change, Maxine moved her career from PHC to oncology housekeeping at Good Samaritan Hospital. She retired from there when she turned 62. She always felt it was very meaningful work and she had great love and compassion for suffering patients.

Years marched on, daughters grew up. More grandkids came along. Grandkids grew up. Grandkids had kids. There were marriages, graduations and all of life’s great joys and milestones. Maxine’s hard work and love became a beautiful tapestry of family. Her silly antics and funny remarks, her laughter and willingness to listen made her fun to be around. (Each family member has their own special “thing” they experienced with her.)

After retirement Maxine continued to care about her family. She and Barbara lived together for 65 years. She enjoyed talking on the phone and doing things with her friends. She spent as much time as she could interacting and caring for grandkids. She survived breast cancer and endured the sorrow of losing her sister and aged friends to ailments.

Grandkids and kids stopped by frequently to visit, vent or get her weigh in on issues. She enjoyed meeting family pets, too. There were trips to the Oregon coast which she loved. (She said that the beach was her grounding place to rejuvenate her soul.) In her 90’s she moved to an apartment where she delighted in visits from family. And of late, she admitted to watching too much TV which made her worry about our world. Her last year her grandchildren and great- grandchildren brought her much joy. She worried about them in this economy and state of affairs, but she assured us she will watch over them and she has great faith in their abilities. Love conquers all.

Maxine continued to live independently until she was hospitalized for renal failure in August. She would like to thank her family for working as a team to allow her to live on her own these past few years. (They each had a part to “keep things looking nice”.) She would also like to thank Kaiser Hospice for providing resources to facilitate her care over the past few weeks by her family in her home until her death September 20th. (Yes, that one kidney worked for 50 years!)

Maxine was a survivor. Maxine is now at peace with the Lord. Her last wish was to see everyone in heaven someday. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten.

A memorial service is pending and will be shared on this website early October. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Kidney Association or hurricane disaster relief. Thank you.