Yvonne Gwendolyn (Fenske) Smith

Our mother, Yvonne G. Smith, age 94, died on March 11, 2018, in East Jordan, Michigan, following a brave but grim 17-year battle with Dementia.  She is survived by her children, O.L.  (Jane) Smith of Boyne City, Michigan, Geoffrey L. (Linda) Smith of Vail, Colorado, Cheryl S. (Doug) Campbell of Sherwood, Oregon and Vikki (John) Streu of Newberg, Oregon. Yvonne is also survived by her 7 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and her brother, Dr. Herbert David Fenske.  She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Dr. Ora L. Smith D.V.M. in 2007.

The third of five siblings, Yvonne Gwendolyn Fenske was born on January 31, 1924, in Detroit to first generation German immigrant parents, Harry and Esther (Emling) Fenske.  She grew up in Detroit, where she graduated from Denby High School in 1942.  She went on to attend Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she studied Music.  On January 27, 1945, she married her high school sweetheart, Ora Lynn “Buddy” Smith II, DVM, with whom she shared the next 62 years.  They moved into a house/clinic in Pontiac, where “Doc” started his veterinary medicine practice.  Yvonne proceeded to give birth to four children, while helping out in the attached Veterinary Clinic.  When “Doc” was called to duty during the Korean War, Yvonne managed the family and relocated them to England while he did his service as an officer in the United States Air Force.  Upon returning to the States, the family returned to Pontiac and made plans to build a modern Veterinary Hospital.  The family then made their permanent home in Bloomfield Hills where they lived until Doc passed in 2007.

A highly energetic, vivacious woman, Yvonne supported her children’s eclectic endeavors while managing Doc’s Veterinary Practice.  She did this while pursuing her own diverse interests including performing as a church soloist,  holding lead singing parts in community theater, organizing Girl Scout day camps, acting as lead cheerleader for her kids’ various athletic activities, and keeping her kids in hand-knitted sweaters.  As life-long alpine ski enthusiasts, Yvonne and Doc worked together as volunteers with the National Ski Patrol and the U.S. Ski Association’s Region III racing programs.    While Doc was a ski instructor for the Blizzard Ski Club, Yvonne worked in the membership office making it possible for kids of all ages to learn to ski.  Her children and grandchildren knew her as an elegant, independent, creative and above all, loving mother and grandmother.  She loved children and believed deeply in helping children find direction through their individual talents and education.  Our hearts were broken as we watched her slowly vanish to the disease process – and she still did it with grace.

Yvonne’s family plan to honor and remember her life with a memorial on May 19, 2018, at Moscow Plains, Michigan.

Those wishing to remember Yvonne are asked to do so through a charitable donation to Grandvue Medical Care Facility, 1728 S. Peninsula Road, East Jordan, MI 49727. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Yvonne Gwendolyn (Fenske) Smith, please visit our floral store.