Funeral Services for Estella Lee Smith, Age 79 of Mountain View, Missouri will be held on Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 at The First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri beginning at 10:00 AM. Interment will be in The Bolin Cemetery, Hutton Valley, Missouri.
Estella Lee (Due) Smith was born on November 16, 1946, on a farm near Mountain View, Missouri, to Charles and Nancy (Roberts) Due. On Thursday, May 21, 2026, surrounded by her loving family, she drew her final breath here and entered into the open arms of Jesus.
Estella spent most of her childhood south of Mountain View, in an area known as Deep Water. During this period, she attended grade school and remained a lifelong member of the Chapel Hill church. It was during her formative years that she accepted Jesus into her heart.
On March 22, 1964, Estella married Kenneth Darrel Smith, Sr. Together, they shared 62 happy years and built a family of five sons and one daughter: Jeff, Ken, Lelande, Matt, Debi, and Nathann.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Nancy Due; three sisters, Geneva Hall, Lora Coldwell, and Katherine Marik; her mother and father-in-law, Jessie and Jeffrey Smith; and one son, Jeffrey Charles Smith.
She is survived by her husband, Kenny of the home; four sons, Kenneth Jr (Leah) Smith of Monahans, TX, Lelande (Stephanie) Smith of Mountain View, MO, Matthew (Marie) Smith of Desoto, MO, Nathann (Selena) Smith of Mountain View, MO; and one daughter, Deborah Smith of Mountain View, MO; 19 grandchildren, Korin (Bryanna), Kamen (Kassi), Kaden, Beckett Smith, Dailey (Daultin) Burkett, Chandal (Dalton) Drumright, Quenten (Emily), Makenna (Toby) Smith, Johnathan (Ashley) Lawson, Derrik (Shelby) Terrill, Zachary, Anthony (Grace) Smith, Jamie (Jackson) Gross, Christopher and Jacob McCormick, Alexandra (Harley) Curtis, Clint (Angela), Cody (Breanna), and Cassidy Smith; 21 great-grandchildren, Katara, Evander, Kora, Castiel, Beauden, Juliette, Braylon, Karson, Abbie, Landree, Sophie, Finnigan, Amber, Samantha, William, Jason, Kal, Whitley, Lainey, Alaina, and Ava; and many special nieces and nephews.
Throughout her life, Estella devoted herself to caring for her home and family as a stay-at-home mother. She truly enjoyed teaching Sunday school to children, organizing church Christmas programs, singing in the choir, and putting on vacation bible school each summer. She fondly recalled arriving at VBS one time with 13 children in the Volkswagen bug. There probably weren’t enough seat belts, but she wanted every child to hear about the Lord. Estella wore many hats: a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, and also a business owner of Country Flowers flower shop, cake decorator, and was even a substitute teacher for a short time when Kenny’s work took them to Collinwood, Tennessee. After they returned to Mountain View in 2002, she went to work at Mountain View Fabricating, where she made many great friends. Estella was a very active member of the Willow Springs Theater group, where she helped produce and perform in many plays.
Estella was a Godly woman, beautiful inside and out. She was an excellent listener and offered great advice, but only when asked. She made friends everywhere she went. If you knew Estella, you were blessed. We will all share many stories about Grandma Smith for many years to come, and we will smile and probably shed a few tears, because we miss her so much. But Grandpa Kenny said on the morning that she passed, “Our loss is heaven’s gain.”
