Obituary: Camilla Smith Wood

Obituary: Camilla Smith Wood

Published: Friday, Feb. 26, 1999 12:00 a.m. MST

My Grandmother's name is Camilla Smith Wood, her parents, Amy Ella Hawkes and George Ensign Smith named her after her dad's mom. Her grandchildren call her Cami, it was her high school nickname. She was the third child in her family, born October 23, 1926. She still has two living sisters, Leona Kravet and Myrle Dalton.
She was very smart and graduated from South High School at 16 in 1943. Then she paid her way through Salt Lake County Nurses Training School. While she was there, my grandpa, Kirt DeMar Wood (1923-1987) who was in the Navy, sent her mother a diamond ring and a letter stating his intentions. He called Cami and asked her to marry him. When she said yes, her mother gave her the ring. After his return from World War II they married on June 11, 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple.Cami got her B.S.N. at the University of Utah in 1947. She was too young to get a nursing license so she worked cleaning hospital closets until she was old enough. She became head nurse at Salt Lake County Hospital and later at L.D.S. Hospital. She and Anita Owens started the first Practical Nursing Program at the Salt Lake Area Vocational School, which eventually became the Salt Lake Community College Nursing Program. She returned to school and earned her M.S. in Psychiatric Nursing in 1960 while she was pregnant with her fifth child. She later received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology while she was pregnant with her sixth child. She taught at U of U in the capacity of Asst. Prof. and Assoc. Prof. Coll. Nursing. In 1973 she went to teach at BYU and became full Professor and director of Masters Program College of Nursing. She devoted her time and talents to research in the area of immunology. She was published in multiple medical journals and traveled the world sharing her findings on the benefits of mother's milk on infants. After retiring in 1991 she served an L.D.S. Genealogy Mission in England.

During all this time she raised a family, magnified her callings in the church, planted gardens, canned food, served her neighbors and was a good friend to many. Her family is very proud of her accomplishments and will always look to her example of hard work and determination. She truly was a righteous mother in Zion and will be sorely missed. She passed away February 23, 1999.
She is survived by her six children, ...32 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
This obituary was inspired by a school project done by Cami's granddaughter, Talyn Reasor. She got an A. Remember that our mothers are not with us for long; in Cami's memory take your mother to lunch.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 1, 1999 at 11 a.m. at the Jordan Valley 6th Ward Chapel (3650 W. 4400 South, West Valley, Ut), with Bishop John L. Petersen officiating. The family will meet with friends Sunday evening from 7-8:30 p.m. at the ward chapel and one hour prior to services. Burial will be in the Orem City Cemetery. [C-257-01] Arrangements are under the direction of the Wood Funeral Home in Idaho Falls, Idaho and Valley View Funeral Home in West Valley, Utah.

She is survived by her six children, ...32 grandchildren and [73 great-grandchildren by 2019.]