Clara M. Smith

Clara M. Smith, 87, of Topeka, Kansas, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2025.

Clara was born on May 10, 1938, in Harveyville, Kansas, to Claude and Fay Briant. She graduated from Topeka High School in 1956 and worked as a personal assistant and office manager at Jostens Printing and Publishing throughout her adult life.

She married the love of her life, George Smith, with whom she shared a lifetime of devotion until his passing in 2020. Outside of work, Clara devoted herself to her family. She is survived by her children, Rob Smith (Topeka, KS) and Michelle Dougan (Lynchburg, VA); daughter-in-law, Cindi (Turgeon) Smith (Topeka, KS); and her grandchildren, Skylar, Colby (Clare), Dylan, and Macy Smith. Along with many nephews and nieces of whom she loved dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Claude and Fay Briant; her siblings, Carl Briant, Freda (Briant) Bowden, and Elton Briant; and her eldest grandchild, Beau Dougan.

Clara was known for her warmth, integrity, and reliability, and for the way she made others feel seen and cared for. Family and friends will remember her gentle humor, her love of attending and coordinating garage sales, needlepoint, and the countless ways she showed up for the people she loved. Her favorite and most important role in life was being a grandmother. She was loving and kind, spending countless hours with her grandkids playing games and taking them on vacations. Grandma Clara played an enormous role in shaping her grandchildren into the amazing people they are today. She was a generous soul and will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Clara will be cremated, and a private burial will be held with family at Mount Hope Cemetery.