Martha Lou Smith

Martha Lou Smith passed away at her home surrounded by the love of her family on May 17, 2026.

Martha Lou (Marty to family and friends) was born on Nov. 6, 1940 in Van Lear, Kentucky to her parents Evalee and Fred Trimble. They remained in Kentucky with Fred working as a farmhand until their next child, Phillip, was born. It was time for a change, so they moved to Ohio where Fred and Evalee continued farming. Marty spent her childhood years pitching in on the farm along with her siblings, Phillip, Eunice and Dixie.

She stayed in Ohio until she met the love of her life, Karl W. Smith. They were married December 22, 1956 and spent the next 63 years together raising their family and going on adventures in their RV until Karl’s passing in 2017.

Karl spent the majority of his working career, 32 years, dedicating his life to the U.S. Air Force. During that time Marty and Karl raised their family of five children, Belinda, Elizabeth Ann, Karla Lee, Gregory William and Daniel. Raising a family in the military wasn’t easy, often packing up the house, the kids and going to the next duty station every three to four years.

Marty was the glue to the whole operation. She prided herself in being a stay at home mom, raising her kids, gardening and caring for other military families that might be in need. She volunteered for the Escort Committee of military wives who stepped up to support newly bereaved families and assist with the arrival of fallen service members from Vietnam.

When the Vietnam War broke out, Karl was called to serve overseas and Marty held down the fort until her “Handsome Vietnam War Hero” returned home. After the war, Karl’s military career continued with numerous moves of being stationed at Homestead AFB in Florida, Hickam AFB in Hawaii and finally at Scott AFB in Illinois, where he finally retired after 32 years of service. They moved the family back to Ohio to care for Marty’s mother, Evalee, until her passing in 1998.

After all the kids were on their own and Marty and Karl had the freedom to travel, they bought their first RV and began to travel on adventures across the country. Their favorite trip was to go to Alaska to visit their daughter Elizabeth who lived in Homer. They drove the Alcan Highway at least a dozen times with Marty proudly being Karl’s Co-Pilot. They finally secured a piece of property down the street from their daughter where they resided for the next sixteen years enjoying fishing and their beloved daughter.

After Karl’s passing in 2017, Marty moved South to remove herself from the long Alaskan winters. She lived in Florida and Ohio until recently when she moved back to Alaska to spend her last few months with her daughter.

Marty is survived by her daughter Elizabeth, and son-in-law, Billy; her son, Gregory and daughter-in-law, Melanie; her sister, Dixie; her grandson, Reid; her granddaughter, Kalynn; grandson, Joseph; niece’s, Helen, Mary, Niki and Crystal; nephews, Lenford and Phillip; and numerous grandnieces and grandnephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like any donations to go to Hospice of Homer in Marty’s memory.