Velma V. Smith died of pneumonia on Friday, March 20, the spring equinox. During her 93 years, she had moved far from her roots in the tiny town of Bird Island, Minnesota where she was born on February 27, 1916. Velma’s parents were the children of Norwegian and German immigrant farmers. Her mother, Louise Klindworth, had grown up on the North Dakota prairie near Fessenden. Her father, Nels Vikingson, had been a fur trader and farmer in Minnesota. He and Louise eventually settled in Minneapolis, where Velma grew up the second of nine children.
All her life Velma was fascinated with fabric and language. As a child she pestered her mother into sewing the dresses she craved, and later she herself became a skilled seamstress, creating most of the clothes she and her three daughters wore. While attending the University of Minnesota in the 1930s she won an award for one of her short stories. Her fascination with words drew her into a group of young writers that included her future husband Ray Smith and feminist writer Meridel LeSueur, with whom she developed a lifelong correspondence.
After graduation Velma taught in Goodridge and Gaylord, Minnesota. When WWII began, she hitchhiked with a girlfriend to New York City, where she worked on gyroscopes for Arma Corporation. She was married to Ray Smith in the 1940s. In 1954 she moved west, settling in Tacoma where she raised her three daughters by herself. She taught English, journalism, American history, and writing for five years at Stewart Junior High and 18 years at Mt. Tahoma High School (including a sabbatical year to earn a Master’s degree at Reed College 1968-69).
Velma enjoyed traveling, and made trips to all parts of the U.S. as well as to Israel, England, France, Italy, and Russia.
Soon after Velma retired, she moved to Vashon Island to be closer to two of her daughters and their children. She lived 30 years on Vashon, including twenty at lower Gold Beach. She participated in the Memoirs Writing group during the period when it was led by Joyce Delbridge. Despite her reclusive nature, she had a wonderful time listening to all the stories and sharing her narratives and poems with her fellow writers.
Velma was a gifted writer who instilled in all three daughters a love of writing and reading. Despite distance and time she remained close to her birth family, and much of her writing has to do with memories of parents, siblings, and her childhood. She was a loving, generous, and supportive presence in the lives of her children and grandchildren, always ready to listen, help out, and share her Vikingson strength of purpose.
Velma is survived by her brother Vern Vikingson; her sister Phyllis Plummer; her daughters Iris Halvorsen (Bob), Rayna Holtz (Jay), and Shelley Calabrese (Sam); her grandchildren Rob Frishkoff, Gwen Frishkoff Maloney (Allen), Ariel Holtz Dressler (Dan), Morgan Holtz, and Gene Calabrese; her great-grandchildren Brandon Calabrese and Baby Dressler; many nieces and nephews; and her little gray and white cat Mimi.
Services will be held in Minneapolis, where she will be interred beside her parents and siblings at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery on April 17. In accordance with her wishes, memorial contributions may be sent to Ferret Shelter Northwest, P. O. Box 1963, Vashon, WA. 98070.
(Paid obituary)
