Cloris Joan Edwards Smith died on August 15, 2016 from complications stemming from a broken leg she suffered in 2015. She is survived by her only son Clayton Lee Smith of Houston. Clo was born to Lorn and Lyla Edwards on December 6, 1923 in Pawnee Oklahoma. She was the third of 4 children and the middle of three girls. Her siblings, Cloene Crider, Lorn Edwards Jr. and Pat Juneman all predeceased her. Clo attended Pawnee High School. Following graduation she moved to Tulsa Oklahoma and enrolled in the Draughton School of Business. There she met and fell in love with Melvin V. "Pete" Smith. Clo and Melvin were married in Hayes, Kansas, on February 19, 1944 prior to Melvin shipping overseas with the Army Air Corp.

Following the war, Clo and Melvin moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where Clo worked in the office of the Dean of Women. After graduation they moved to Midland Texas where Melvin took a job as an exploration geologist. In 1955 Clo and Melvin moved to Wichita, Kansas, where on January 18, 1956 she gave birth to her son, Clayton.

In 1965, Clo and Melvin moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Melvin took a job as a geologist with the Army Corp. of Engineers. A year later Clo and Melvin built a house on the East side of Tulsa; a house in which Clo would live for the next 47 years. Throughout her life, Clo worked as a secretary and bookkeeper, primarily for oil companies.

Clo was a devoted mother who excelled at raising a headstrong son. Dedicated, independent, and fearless, Clo was often described as feisty. She was a strong person and overcame many adversities in her life. Clo was self-reliant and always kept herself busy with something. At 61 she was still chopping down trees in her yard. She loved to work in the yard and said she was a farmer at heart.

Clo loved to dance. She and Melvin were members of the Midland Square Dance Club. For a time she taught at an Arthur Murray Dance Studio, a skill that was very useful when it was discovered that her son had two left feet.

By nature a serious person, Clo nevertheless had an easy laugh. She couldn't tell a joke, but often brought laughter to those around her with her pithy statements on life.

Melvin passed away on May 11, 1981, which was Mother's Day. Clo never remarried and never again celebrated Mother's Day. Wanting to be closer to Clay in her later years, Clo moved to Houston in 2014. Clo, never wanting to be a bother, bought a house across the street from Clay. As she anticipated, this proximity resulted in she and Clay being able to spend much more time together as her health declined.

Funeral Service: 2:00 PM, Saturday, August 27, 2016 Memorial Park Cemetery Chapel, Tulsa, OK.

Moore's Eastlawn Chapel 918-622-1155



Service: 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 27, 2016
Memorial Park Cemetery Chapel

Moore's Eastlawn Chapel
918-622-1155