Leslie K. Smith

SMITH, LESLIE K. Leslie K. Smith, a resident of Del Cerro, passed away on May 26, 2005. She was 59 years old. Her husband of 36 years Robert; her son Matt; daughter-in-law Maribel; grandson Ruben; brother Marshall; sister-in-law Amy; six nieces and one nephew survive Leslie. She was pre-deceased by her parents, George and Muriel. Leslie was born in New Haven, Connecticut and moved to San Diego at the age of one where she resided all her life. She attended Crawford High School and became a medical assistant in 1967. She worked for La Jolla cardiologist Charles Fitch until 1975. She truly enjoyed caring for her patients and they showed their appreciation by sending her gifts and cards. Leslie later became a travel agent and enjoyed traveling with friends and family. Leslie's pride and joy was her son Matt. She was very proud of his many accomplishments and encouraged him to be a responsible, hard worker. Leslie had a tremendously infectious smile that lit up her face and made everyone who saw it feel welcome. She was a woman conscious of her appearance and never left the house without her hair, nails and make-up done appropriately. Leslie enjoyed playing Mahjong and Pan and played cards with the same group of close friends for almost thirty years. Leslie also enjoyed volunteering her time with various organizations including: Los Amigos, The Children's Aid Society, Haddassah, Jewish Family Services and The First Family and the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood. She and her husband, Robert, raised funds for Seacrest Village for many years. Leslie loved to travel. Her favorite part of the world was Asia and her favorite city was Hong Kong. She also loved to vacation on cruise ships and took many unforgettable cruises with family and friends. Leslie was a voracious reader and it wasn't unusual for her to read several books a week. She enjoyed books that ran the gamut from intelligently written mysteries to romance novels. Leslie was an animal lover. She had a particular talent for raising very well behaved and loving dogs and she loved them like they were her children. One of her other hobbies was driving her electric blue Porsche. She loved that car and was able to talk Robert into allowing her to race at Porsche Club events. Another source of pride and interest for Leslie was jewelry. She loved shopping for fine jewelry all over the world. She also designed jewelry and had a knack for being able to identify any high-end watch she saw. About three and a half years ago, Leslie suffered a stroke and an aneurysm. Even though she was a quadriplegic, she continued to fight for life and spent many enjoyable hours with her family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Leslie's name to: Seacrest Village Capital Campaign, Temple Emanu-El Capital Campaign, San Diego Hospice. Services took place on Friday May 27th. Please sign the guest book at obituaries.uniontrib.com