La Wana Smith Mathews, 77, of Roy, Utah, passed away
peacefully on January 14, 2025. Born June 1, 1947, in St. Anthony, Idaho and has resided in Roy, Utah since
1978.
La Wana was creative and pursued her passion for beauty
enjoying a fulfilling career as a licensed beautician for over 20 years. She was a backcombing goddess, and
clients loved her style as they returned for their weekly up-dos during her career.
La Wana was an avid crafter. She loved a variety of
crafts from dip and drape, crocheting, floral arrangements, and her favorite was scrapbooking. With heart
and a leap of faith, she became a small business owner. She was the owner of L J Crafts and Gifts, serving
the Ogden community for 15 years. As a business owner, she partnered with the Newgate Mall, and sponsored
craft shows twice a year. This brought hundreds of vendors from all over the Western States bringing a
beautiful synergy of talents together.
She had a booth at the Utah State Fair for a decade. Her
favorite time was when school kids would come to her booth. They selected little trinkets, counted their
pennies, and many times would come up short. La Wana would say with a smile, “It’s on sale.” Adjusting the
price to coins they had in their hands. This was just one way she showed her generous and kind
spirit.
La Wana loved to travel and see the world. She traveled
to support her children's dance, soccer competitions and other countries as her children spread across the
globe. With this love, she opened her home to various children along the way by being a foreign exchange
host parent. Through the years their home had experiences with students from Japan, Mexico and Germany.
Sasha was one of their students who desired to finish high school. La Wana welcomed him in as an adoptive
son, loving him as one of her own.
La Wana was eclectic. Her love for collecting unique
knickknacks and finding incredible deals were her superpowers. If you needed something, she most likely had
it or knew how to get it for you because she was a great problem solver.
La Wana was an avid supporter of numerous charities
dedicated to children and Veterans, reflecting her compassionate nature. She was a member of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Beyond her professional endeavors, La Wana was a devoted
mother to her children: Stacie Mathews Harris, Delonni Mathews Bibbs (Andrae), Dustin Mathews (Sheryl),
Scott Mathews (Alissa), and Michael Mathews (Ari). She cherished her role as a grandmother to her 17
grandchildren and soon to be 13 great-grandchildren. She was always proud of her family and supported them
in their endeavors. She delighted in spoiling her great-grandchildren.
La Wana’s touch, texts with the multiple emojis bringing
smiles to our faces, will be missed by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, Sandra
Kimber, Eliot Smith, and Rhonda Rennemeyer. She was preceded in death by her parents, Douglas and Colleen
Smith, and her half-sister, Vickie B. Young.
For more than 20 years, La Wana battled Multiple
Sclerosis. This caused great pain, it was challenging. Her health and mobility changed within the last
couple of years, making it difficult to live the life she wanted. Her spirits were strong and had hopes of
improvement, even though she declined significantly this last year.
The family would like to express their love and
appreciation for those who cared for their momma. Thank you to her dear and devoted friends Karen and Harry
Rich. Words will never convey the appreciation for your countless hours of service, friendship and love. A
special thanks to Sherry Larson who has been a friend and special caregiver. She knew how to speak La
Wana’s language with love and compassion. To Shristi, Kaharah and Dianah who stepped in with an
insurmountable love to aid her in her last days. Canyon Home Care & Hospice, who took such good care of
La Wana for the last 2 ½ years. We love and honor you for the work you do.
A celebration of La Wana's life will be held Tuesday,
January 28, 2025 at 2 p.m. at Lindquist's Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd. Interment to follow at
Evergreen Memorial Park at 100 N Monroe Blvd. Ogden, UT.
