Carol Jean Smith, 78, of Ventura, CA passed away on December 11, 2018, in Ventura, CA.
Mom was born Carol Jean Hopper in Cloverdale, KS in a farmhouse on December 12, 1939, and later moved to a farm in Moline, KS her parents and sisters. After moving to the big city of Wichita in 1961, she met future husband Ed Bentley. Two kids (Dana and Jay) and four years later the family moved to Saugus, California. Carol moved reluctantly, but the move to the warmer climate gradually grew on her.In 1976, Carol and the kids made another move to Woodland Hills after a second a marriage, where she stayed for the next 40 years.
Carol loved dancing and would dance with her friends whenever she could, but her love of the farm and love of the land never left her.She loved to garden and her front yard was always her pride and joy. Carol was also a good cook and made amazing mid-western food.The family joke of how she stayed so thin was that the food was gone by the time she sat down at the table to eat.
Carol moved to Ventura in 2014, when she moved into the Ventura Townehouse.There she made some wonderful friends and enjoyed the camaraderie as well as the incredible ocean/Channel Island view.
Carol leaves behind daughter Dana Bentley and her husband Tom Murphy and son Jay Bentley and his wife Natalia Fabia and grandkids Miles, Hunter and Peribeau, as well as sisters JoAn (Bill), Barbara (Bob), Wanda (Charles), and many nieces and nephews.
Dana and Jay would like to thank the Ventura Townehouse and Coastal View Skilled Nursing for taking such good care of mom. We could not have asked for better people to a part of our village.
Family and friends are invited to a Memorial Service at 10:30am on Tuesday, December 18, 2018 in the Founder's Room, 7th Floor at the Ventura Townhouse, 4900 Telegraph Rd, Ventura. Arrangements are under the direction of the JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE, 757 East Main Street, Ventura.