Gloria Grace Penter Smith also known as "Momo" and "Great Grandmother" was born in Dallas, Texas on May 28, 1930, at Methodist Hospital. She passed into her heavenly reunion with family and friends on April 12, 2026. Her youth was spent in the Preston Hollow area of Dallas where she attended a parochial grade school. She graduated from Hillcrest High School with 27 others in her class. Gloria watched Dallas grow from a large town to the metropolis it is today.

After high school Gloria worked at several jobs and later became employed at State Farm Insurance Company as a file clerk. There she met John W. Smith (Jim). They became soul mates and were soon married. They lived in south east Dallas where they began their 70 years together. Gloria spent those years caring for her family—a task she dearly loved. She reared two children, Kimberley and Stephen. She enjoyed encouraging them to try and experiment with many interests and as a result, both were blessed with many talents and abilities. Gloria also spent the years caring for her grandson Aaron and great grandson Christian while they were in preschool and elementary school. She loved taking them to and picking them up from school and asking about their day.

Gloria was always involved with her children's learning and school activities. One of her favorite responses when asked the definition of a word was, "Go look it up, then you'll remember it."

She had a voracious appetite for books—delighted in going to bookstores—and always encouraged her kids to read. During her children's elementary years she always made sure that their class had cake or cookies for the various holidays celebrated in the '50s. She volunteered to help with Cub Scouts, Blue Birds and Campfire Girls. She was much like a "Leave it to Beaver" mom only without the pearls and heels.

In her thirties, Gloria took a two-year art course by mail. She excelled and was highly commended for her work, receiving a diploma from the Famous Artist's Institute. Through the years she had several showings of her artwork in galleries throughout Texas. She also completed several specially commissioned paintings for friends and family. Her artistic abilities were not limited to oil painting—she also was very talented in other mediums such as acrylics, china painting, pottery, and ceramics.

Gloria was a very accomplished cook and seamstress. She created many wonderful delights in her kitchen and would often duplicate famous recipes right out of her head. Her family almost always had a garden and she and Jim would can or freeze all kinds of things for winter consumption. As a child, it was wonderful to come home from school and smell baked goods in the oven. She encouraged her children to learn to cook and when they showed interest, instructed them in culinary techniques. Her daughter Kimberley excelled in that talent as she grew older and is a very accomplished cook. There were two things you could always count on at Gloria's house: first, food was always important and always a part of any task, project, party or event; second, if you left Gloria's house hungry, it was your own fault. She loved to entertain and feed friends and family.

Gloria was an accomplished seamstress and made many clothes for her children when they were young—in later years she even made a full length wedding dress for Kimberley. One of her most challenging accomplishments was the full, business suit she made for Jim. Another time she made pajamas for Jim and accidentally sewed a straight pin into the crotch. When he tried them on, he sat down and popped up like a jack-in-the-box! Gloria thought that was hilarious and it became a great family story that would bear repeating! She could make or mend almost anything on a sewing machine and treasured going to the fabric store—many times with Kimberley—and searching through pattern books. She hoarded a closet full of all types of fabrics and yarn just in case she wanted to make something. She also knitted and crocheted and taught Stephen how to needlepoint.

Gloria loved animals! There was always at least one dog in the house. Under her watch, the family had dogs, cats, turtles, frogs, rabbit, horned toads, lizards, worms, and even a skunk for a brief time. She helped prepare deceased childhood pets for burials in the backyard complete with shoebox caskets, flowers and a hymn to help the family through the grief process. Gloria loved caring for others no matter the cost to her.  At one point she sent Stephen an anonymous letter in the mail saying she was going to notify People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) if he "terminated" any squirrels around his house. She thought that was so funny because Stephen spent days trying to figure out which neighbor had notified PETA. After Jim passed, her great grandson, Christian, and his 100-pound Labrador Retriever, Bear, lived with her.  She loved that dog and he'd be very careful of her as she'd navigate the house on her walker or wheelchair.

Gloria wanted to have a business to sell the products that she and her family created. In the '70s, she and Jim bought what was an old dormitory in Granbury, Texas just off the square. Dad and Stephen remodeled it and Gloria and Kimberley decorated and painted the floors and walls. This gallery allowed her to share the many fruits of her abilities by selling art supplies, paintings, clay works, jams, jellies, knitted items, sewn items, and some wood items Jim would make to paint or sell. The family all enjoyed the time together making her dream come true. She'd often cook cinnamon rolls to make the place smell wonderful when patrons came in. She also had booths in several craft malls in the DFW area. Gloria loved flea markets and garage sales; she and Jim had many garage sales and enjoyed visiting with people.

Gloria felt it very important for her children to attend worship as they grew up. Her faith was important to share with her children as well as giving her time and efforts to help those less fortunate. During their fifties and sixties, Gloria and Jim volunteered many hours at the infant formula office at Fort Worth's First Methodist church. She loved babies and caring for them. Occasionally, she'd knit booties, hats and mittens for babies and donate them to the church to give away with formula. She also made them for Harris hospital for the premature babies in the NICU to keep them warm. She would always try to help anyone who asked her for help.

Gloria led an abundantly blessed life and was a very loving and generous mother and wife. She will be greatly missed by her family and all who knew her.

Gloria was preceded in death by her husband Jim, and her parents Grace and Jack Penter. Survivors are her daughter Kimberley and husband Lester Bowers; son Stephen and his wife Karla; grandson Aaron; great grandson Christian; brother John Penter; sister Jill Penter Griffin and her husband H.G. Griffin.

John Wesley Smith , also known as Jim, J.W., Brother and Pawpaw was born in Sweetwater, Texas on September 4, 1926 and passed into his heavenly home September 28, 2020. At the age of 3 his family moved from Sweetwater to Sulphur Springs, Texas. John was the youngest of 3 children. As a youth he sang and led his Baptist church choir.  He was a Boy Scout and accepted Christ as his savior at a tent revival while the others were sitting on cotton bales under a tent. An early job that he held was delivering newspapers. He rode his horse backwards so he could toss the papers more accurately to his subscribers.

At age seventeen with his mom's permission, John joined the Navy and served in WWII as a radar operator and gunner on the USS Harding, a destroyer/minesweeper.  It was during this service in the Pacific theater that he survived an enemy airplane hitting his ship. The Harding was attacked with other ships by four kamikazes. One was driven off, another shot down, but a third flew directly for the Harding's bridge. As gunfire ripped into the aircraft it splashed close on the starboard side, tearing a huge gash from keel to main deck in the Harding's side. The plane's bomb exploded taking several lives. John was honorably discharged and received three commendation ribbons: the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon (1 star), the American Campaign Ribbon and the Victory Ribbon, all of which are no longer awarded.

John held a degree in Applied Mechanics from East Texas State College.  He also had a LLB law degree.  After college he taught construction practices to men coming out of the military. Around 1949 he moved to Dallas, Texas, and began a 30-plus year career with State Farm Insurance Company. There he met the love of his life, Gloria, whom he would later marry. Before retiring, John reached a career goal of divisional claim superintendent with State Farm Insurance. After retirement, he and Gloria enjoyed serving the less fortunate and volunteered at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth in the infant formula distribution program.

He enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing, barbecuing, and golf. He became quite the expert at woodworking and was once featured in a west Texas newspaper article for one of his creations. John was a Boy Scout Master and coached his son's baseball teams; he was a good man, a great father and enjoyed spending time with his family. Frequently, he and his family would take early morning treks to White Rock Lake in Dallas where he would prepare delicious campfire breakfasts while the family watched the sun come up. He had a love for animals and after purchasing a country getaway, he adopted donkeys from the Grand Canyon through the Bureau of Land Management program. Throughout his life, John always had a dog by his side and enjoyed working with them in obedience training. He became a dedicated "landlord" of purple martins, learned all he could about these beneficial birds and even appeared on an early morning news show in the DFW area to share his knowledge of this "hobby." John was also a devoted Cowboy's fan. In the '60s when games were blacked out locally, he put up a giant antenna in his yard to watch games broadcasted from Waco.

John was an avid golfer for many years and hit two holes-in-ones during his life; a feat few golfers experience even once. He had a keen talent for woodcarving in his later years and taught a carving class for several men while in his seventies.  At Christmas, the family could always count on receiving at least one of his new, hand-carved ornaments. He generously gave his carvings to friends, family and his doctors as gifts of love and appreciation. His culinary talents were also much appreciated and his brisket and smoked ribs became famous among family and friends. He also loved to make sour dough starter for biscuits.

John was preceded in death by parents Ray and Gladys Smith, his brother William Smith and his sister, Shirley McIntyre. Survivors were his spouse Gloria G., his daughter Kimberley and her husband Lester Bowers, son Stephen and wife Karla, grandson Jonathan Aaron, great grandson Christian A. and nephews Mike Smith, John, Tommy and Dale McIntyre and their families, all residing in the DFW area.  John enjoyed life and his family to the fullest.

Both Jim and Gloria will be interred at the National Cemetery. There will be a private service for the immediate family only.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Humane Society of Fort Worth, TX , or The National Cemetery in Dallas TX