DaVonna J. Smith

DaVonna Jean Jones was born on March 24, 1949, in Dierks, Arkansas. She attended elementary school in both Dierks and Broken Bow, Oklahoma as her mom and dad, Dale and Dorothy Jones, moved back and forth between the two towns in the mid-1950’s. DaVonna would later graduate from Broken Bow High School in 1967. During high school, DaVonna was active in the band program, playing the saxophone and performing as a majorette in the marching band. As a senior, she tried out for and won the head majorette position.

During Christmas of her senior year, she met her future husband on a blind date while he was home on leave from the Army. When he was assigned to a tour of duty in Vietnam, she wrote him letters every day and sent cookies to him monthly in a tin coffee can. Upon his return from Vietnam, DaVonna and Jimmy D. Smith were married in the First Baptist Church of Broken Bow on July 4th, 1968. They would remain married for nearly 58 years, until her passing on April 24th, 2026.

DaVonna earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1973 and accepted an elementary teaching position at Dierks Elementary in Broken Bow Public Schools. In 1974, she and Jimmy welcomed their first daughter, Amber Lenee into their family. In 1975, the young family moved to Marshfield, Wisconsin, where Jimmy worked for the Weyerhaeuser Door Plant as the Purchasing Manager. DaVonna became a stay at home mom for the next ten years, welcoming daughter number two, Cristy Leigh, into the family in 1977 while in Wisconsin. Weyerhaeuser moved the family to Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1978, where daughter Anne Marie joined the family in 1979.

After the family moved back to Broken Bow, in 1982, DaVonna resumed her teaching career first as a fourth grade teacher, then as an eighth grade civics teacher until 1995. In 1996, DaVonna and Jimmy moved to Clayton, Oklahoma, where DaVonna became the elementary music teacher while Jimmy was the School Superintendent. In 2000, DaVonna and Jimmy moved to Heavener, Oklahoma, where Jimmy became the Heavener School Superintendent. At this time DaVonna resumed her educational aspirations by working on a master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma. She attained that master’s degree in 2005 and accepted a position as Federal Programs Director for the Stratford Public Schools in Stratford, Oklahoma. She remained in that position until 2008, when she accepted the position of Federal Programs Director for Elmore City/Pernell Public Schools in Elmore City, Oklahoma, where her husband, Jimmy, was the school superintendent.

DaVonna retired from education and teaching in 2009; her husband Jimmy joining her in retirement in 2010. They enjoyed a life of travel by visiting all 48 continental states plus Hawaii twice. A cruise to Alaska was cancelled due to a parent’s death. In 2020, DaVonna and Jimmy moved to Milford, Kansas, where they continued to travel until 2024. DaVonna began experiencing health problems in 2024 which continued until her passing on April 24, 2026.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday April 29, 2026 from 11:00am-12:30pm at Johnson & Mass-Hinitt Funeral Home in Junction City, Kansas. A graveside service at Kansas Veterans' Cemetery will follow at 1:00pm located at 5181 Wildcat Creek Road, Manhattan, KS 66503.