Lauren Smith Obituary

Elizabeth Lauren Smith of Gulfport, FL, a hospice nurse, nature lover, adventurer and a smiling friend to those in their darkest hour, passed away on Sept. 13, 2025 after a four-year battle with breast cancer. She was 43.



Lauren was born in Texarkana, TX, the only child of John Morgan Smith and Sherry Blankenship Smith, and grew up as a free spirit who learned at an early age how to be tough, independent and kind.



From her father, a master craftsman and competitive kick boxer, she learned how to do things like build her own furniture and defend herself, earning her black belt in karate. Emulating her mother, a green thumb and music lover, she could identify every type of flower and plant she ever saw and never missed a chance to see a concert.



As a child, her father's work took the family to the suburbs of Austin, TX, to the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, LA, and finally to Lee's Summit, MO, where she went to school, made lifelong friends and became a loyal fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.



In K.C., Lauren worked several jobs to pay for and earn her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. She went on to serve at John Knox Village Hospice in Lee's Summit, then as the lead hospice nurse at Kline Galland Hospice in Seattle, WA, and finally as the senior staff nurse at Suncoast Hospice in St. Petersburg, FL.



Her greatest passion, though, was travel: road-tripping with her parents through US National Parks, roaming around the Caribbean, hiking through coffee plantations in Colombia and fishing in Cuba with her partner, John, as well as enjoying trips to Western Europe.



A month before she died, struggling even to walk, she powered her way through a whale watch in Canada's Gaspé peninsula and hiked forest trails with her beloved nieces and nephews at her summer home in Vermont.



Lauren is predeceased by her parents, having cared selflessly for Sherry in the final months.



She will be dearly missed by her partner John Moretti; her "fur baby" rescue dog Roxanne; best friends Monica Ibarra and Britt Reddell; beloved aunts, uncles and cousins, especially Leslie and Ben Montgomery and Lynn Tollett; grandparents Wesley Howard Blankenship and Mary Kathryn Blankenship; and her hospice-nurse family, especially MJ Wasson, Sharon Williams and Bill Kendrick.



A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Ft Desoto State Park, Shelter 12, in St Petersburg, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your favorite pet rescue mission.