Hatsue Smith

April 22, 1926 - May 6, 2018

Hatsue Tanabe Smith passed away on May 6, 2018 at the Maple Grove Lodge in Louisiana, MO at the age of 92. She was born on April 22, 1926 in Kanagawa-ken, Japan to Seizo and Fusa Tanabe. She was the oldest of 5 sisters. They were Sumiko, Matsue, Yoshiko, and Yaeko, and also had a half-brother, Kazuo. Her younger sister, Yoshiko Tamashiro, passed away in Hawaii on the same day as Hatsue. Hatsue was married on December 24, 1952 in Yokohama, Japan to Elmer L. “Buddy” Smith, a soldier in the US Army, and subsequently moved to the United States. Her husband died on March 16, 1962, a passenger aboard a plane which disappeared, on a flight between Guam and the Philippine Islands in rout to Vietnam. After her husband’s death, Hatsue moved to Louisiana, MO where her husband’s family lived. She worked as a child care-giver for some time, and then took a job at Louisiana Plastics where she worked until her retirement, making many friends among her co-workers. Hatsue was cremated and her ashes will be interred at the Memorial Gardens Cemetery near Louisiana, MO at a later date. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 P.M. Sunday, July 15, 2018 at the Elmwood Presbyterian Church in Louisiana, MO. Visitation will be from 1:00 P.M. until time of service Sunday at the church. Cremation rites were provided by Collier Funeral Home in Louisiana, MO.