Leona D. Smith

Leona D. Smith, age 96, of Menasha, passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2017. She was born on October 29, 1920 to the late Bryant and Leotha (Holland) Hawkins in Chisholm, Minnesota. Leona always took pride in herself for being a Licensed Practical Nurse. She was employed with St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton for her whole career. After retirement Leona and George lived in Deerfield Beach, Florida where they owned and operated a fish market.
Leona is survived by her daughters-in-law, Dolores Rickert and Donna Hebbeler; her son-in-law, Richard Rettke; grandchildren, Ronald II (Selena) Rickert, Julie (Glenn) Pankewich, Hydee (Cory) Cordero, Stewart Rettke and Ben Rettke. She is further survived by a special niece Judy (Mike) Demerath and their children, Scott (Kina) Demerath, Penny (Morgan) Mullin, Michelle (Dan) Krause and a dear friend, Cindy Krueger. Leona is survived by many other relatives and friends.
In addition to her parents Leona was preceded in death by her husband, George Smith; her two sons, Ronald and Paul Rickert, her daughter, Barbara Rettke; sisters, Virginia (John) Mitchell, Martha (Otto) Vollstedt; her brothers, Willard, Thomas and Robert (Jean) Hawkins
A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at Wichmann Funeral Home, 537 N. Superior Street in Appleton. Visitation will be held on Wednesday starting at 3:00 p.m. until the time of the service. Interment will be held at the King Veterans Cemetery in Waupaca where she will be buried alongside her husband, George. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation – For Parkinson's Research. A full obituary can be found at: www.wichmannfargo.com.