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Laura Smith
1951 - 2025
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Laura Smith Obituary
A graduate of Wichita Southeast High School in 1969, Laurie earned a bachelor's degree in Family and Child Development from Kansas State University in 1973. Like her mother before her, she was a proud member of Kappa Alpha Theta. In 1977, she moved to Oklahoma to serve as a women's leader with Insight Ministries. She married Scott William Smith in 1982, and together they led an Insight Ministries chapter at Purdue University before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1985.
Laurie's passion for education led her to earn a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State University in 1982, followed by a second Master's degree in Library Media and Information Technology from Northeastern State University in 2004. She homeschooled her children and taught at Ahava Community School and Bread of Life Ministries homeschooling cooperative. In 2001, she became the teaching librarian at Mayo Demonstration Center in Tulsa Public Schools, where she served until 2014.
From 2014 to 2018, Laurie and Scott lived in Cape Town, South Africa, where they established a MASICORP Math Instruction Teaching Lab in the township of Masiphumelele. Upon returning to the U.S., she completed two years at Bethel Ministry School and became a volunteer pastor for Bethel's online ministry.
Laurie is lovingly remembered by her husband, Scott; children Nathan (Savannah McAnally), Hannah (Benjamin Kaufman), and Evan; brother Evan A. Evans (Reilly Murphy-Evans); and sister Emily Evans Taylor (John Taylor).
A Celebration of Life will be held on January 24, 2026, at Believers Church, 4705 South Memorial Dr., Tulsa, OK, at 3:30 p.m. in the Chapel, followed by a communal meal in the Fireside Room.
Donations may be made in Laurie's honor to Hattie's House at https://www.hattieshouse.org.
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