Veloy (Walker) Smith

Veloy Walker Smith

1944 ~ 2026

Veloy Walker Smith passed away peacefully in her home on June 26th surrounded by family. Veloy left behind a legacy of unconditional love, creativity, faith and hard work. Born in Pleasant Grove, she was the baby of the family to one brother and two sisters. Her brother decided he would keep her even though she was a girl because she was“choote in the face.” She grew to be a very happy child with lots of friends and was always on the go. Her mama called her a little gadabout. She entered the Strawberry Days queen pageant in 1963 and not only won second attendant, but was awarded a trophy for Miss Congeniality.

When she was 15 years old, she and a friend were walking across the street when a ‘51 Ford stopped with two boys in it, eager to talk to the girls. After that day, one of those boys, Dennis, kept driving over to Pleasant Grove to look for the cute girl, Veloy. Two weeks later, they were sitting on her back porch talking about how many kids they wanted. That was the beginning of a lifelong love story. After two years of dating and dreaming of the future, they decided for Dennis to go on a mission. He was called to Copenhagen, Denmark for two and a half years—the most difficult time of their lives because they were apart. During that time, Veloy attended BYU, received her associates degree in business and worked at Geneva Steel. Dennis returned home May5th and they married July 2nd 1964. They were finally together.

Veloy and Dennis lived an adventurous life together—she gave him roots and he gave her wings. They, along with their first two children, lived in Copenhagen, Denmark while Dennis studied sculpture. A couple years later, with three children now, they lived in Madrid while Dennis taught at BYU abroad for six months. Like Mormon hippies, they drove and camped around Europe in a VW van that Dennis  bought in Germany. Their adventure continued when they returned to Alpine, where Dennis set up his first studio.

Dennis attributes the success of his career to the unending encouragement and patience that Veloy gave him. Because of her support, his art is scattered throughout the world, touching the lives and hearts of many. Her own creativity and passion for art enriched Dennis’ artistic journey, inspiring him each day. She was herself a gifted artist, creating with all manner of textiles: quilts, crochet, weaving, and anything that could be touched with needle and thread. Through her life she added mosaics, oil painting, and jewelry to her creative repertoire.

Veloy was gifted at visualizing and creating spaces. After child four, Veloy and Dennis built a house up the hill from their first house. They designed this house together with a contemporary flair, complete with a secret door where the family could go onto the roof and enjoy the view of Alpine, the surrounding mountains and the sky. At this Alpine house they had their fifth child.

Veloy and Dennis moved to Bull River in 1978 where they had their sixth child and built an ideal childhood home for the family. Veloy embraced the opportunity to create a community in the neighborhood. She spearheaded the annual regatta, a summer highlight for all the children, and maintained an open invitation to the favorite sledding hill beside the house. Her presence, kindness and care for everyone in the neighborhood made her a second mom to many in the community—with a door, and kitchen, that was always open. She spent countless hours caring for her strawberry patch along the creek bed and her magical perennial garden, bursting with color from early spring to late fall each year. The beautifully manicured meadow hosted many weddings over the decades, bringing together family and friends time and time again. Veloy and Dennis stayed in their Bull River home for 27 years to raise all their children before returning to Alpine to enjoy their final years close to the earliest roots of their family.

Over the years Veloy took many trips. She loved to see the diverse corners of the world with family and cherished her annual trips to Bear Lake and later Mexico with her friends. She also welcomed countless guests from around the world into her home, where her compassion, charm and cooking could overcome any language barrier.

Veloy was a very faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She hit the trifecta of serving as the Primary President, the Relief Society President and the Young Women’s President. But her favorite calling was Primary Pianist, in which she served several times through her life. She had a dear love for Primary music, especially the old songs. She loved children and particularly adored the sound of children’s voices as they spoke. Even in her last days, the sounds of her great-grandchildren’s voices brought a smile to her face.

She is survived by her loving husband Dennis and her children Mark (Gayleen), Sally (Christian), Dale (Sherri), Rachel (Tim), Daniel (Nadia), and Andrew. She was adored and loved by her 22 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, with more anxiously waiting for her to send them on their way to us.

Services will be held at the Alpine LDS Mountainville Chapel, 165 North 100 East Alpine, Utah. Public viewings will take place on Wednesday July 1, 6:00-8:00 pm and Thursday July 2, 9:30-10:30 am. Funeral services will start at 11:00 am on July 2 with the graveside service at the Alpine Cemetery to follow.

For those not able to attend the Funeral Service for Veloy a zoom link has been provided below:

https://zoom.us/j/91386819427#success

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Veloy (Walker) Smith, please visit our floral store.