Cover photo for Pamela Smits's Obituary
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1948 Pamela 2021

Pamela Smits

February 15, 1948 — May 14, 2021

Gallatin

On Friday, May 14, 2021, Pamela Jo (Welsing) Smits, loving wife and mother of three children, passed away at the age of 73.  Pam was born on February 15, 1948 in Green Bay, WI to John (Bud) and Mary (Doran) Welsing.  Pam was one of the first women to earn a degree in computer analytics from the IBM Academy of Technology in Milwaukee, WI in the late 1960s and was a pioneer for women in the IT industry.  Pam and Ted raised three daughters, Kelly Smits, Casey (Smits) Jelinski, and Chrissie Smits.

One of Pam’s greatest qualities was that she was easy to talk to; in fact, Pam never found a person with whom she couldn’t strike up a conversation.  Pam was smart, logical (almost too logical sometimes), she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and there wasn’t a problem she couldn’t solve.  She valued education, was always involved in her children’s and grandchildren’s schools, and she and Ted raised three strong women.  Although she tried, Pam could not tell a joke, though she would laugh at everyone else’s jokes (whether she understood them or not).  She also could not break a rule to save her life.  Pam loved to golf, fish, sew, bake, and travel and she made sure her children and grandchildren knew how to do (and loved) these things, too.  A perfect day for Pam would be fishing from the dock on the retirement home she and ted built on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, catching the biggest fish (along with at least 3 others), then frying them up for dinner while they were fresh – every fish was a “keeper” to her.

Pam was married to her best friend for 54 years.  She was preceded in death by her parents and is survived by her husband and children, as well as two granddaughters and three grandsons.

The family does not plan to have a funeral service but will celebrate her life quietly together.  In lieu of flowers or cards, a memorial fund is being set up for her granddaughter (for whom Pam and Ted are guardians) and can be mailed care of Ted Smits at 120 Bay Watch Place, Gallatin, TN 37066.

A special thanks to Caris Healthcare for their exceptional care and support.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Pamela Smits, please visit our flower store.

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