Ione Diane Smart

Ione Diane Smart was born on October 11, 1926, in Sidney, Montana, to John and Ethel Curtis. She grew up on a farm located on Chenay Creek in western North Dakota. The family made their first move to another farmstead on Bennie Pier Creek, east of the Yellowstone River in Montana. In 1936, they moved to Sidney, Montana.

On August 1, 1943, she was united in marriage to James Ray Smart, at the Assembly of God Church in Sidney, Montana. In 1946, Ione and Ray purchased a ranch southeast of Sidney. This place was where she raised her family. She always had a large garden that produced plenty of vegetables for the family. Her chickens were a source of meat and eggs. The milk cows gave her milk, butter, and cream. The milk was separated from the cream, and her daily chore was to wash the separator twice a day. The cream was shipped to Minnesota by train. The money was used to buy groceries. Ray had asked her if she knew how to milk a cow, she said no, because it could have created another chore for her.

Ione loved riding horses, Flossy was her favorite horse but the horse she rode the most was named Chico. Ione loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her faith in Jesus and reading her bible was very important to her. One of her favorite scriptures was Romans 8:28. She was a Prayer Warrior for all her family and friends. Ione entered Heaven on October 27, 2025.

Survivors include her children; three sons, Steve (Pat) Smart of Three Forks, Montana, John (Sonja) Smart of Cascade Montana, Mark (Deb) Smart of Ulm Montana; daughter Cathy (Bob) Meehan of Great Falls, Montana; 13 grandchildren; and 32 great-grandchildren.

Ione was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; brother, Max Curtis; sister, Joan Evenson; daughter, Susan; and grandson, Justin Smart.