Gita Ann (Liebhart) Smith

Gita Ann (Liebhart) Smith, 94, of Peru, passed away peacefully on January 7, 2022 with family at her side at the River Crossing Nursing Home in Joliet.

Mass of Christian burial will be 11:00 AM Saturday in St. Joseph’s Church in Peru with Rev. Gregory Jarzombek OSB officiating.  Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Arlington.  Visitation will be from 4 to 7:00 PM Friday in the Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle and in the church on Saturday from 10:00 AM until time of services.

Gita was born in La Salle on January 2, 1928 to August and Anna (Stuppy) Liebhart.  She married her husband of 64 years, Harold “Red” Smith in 1950.

She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister, and always put family first.  Gita loved her pets and delighted in feeding the squirrels and watching the birds.  She was an avid reader of everything, newspapers, magazines, and books and did word searches to keep her mind sharp.  She enjoyed her independence and drove until the age of 92.

Gita is preceded in death by her husband Harold “Red” Smith; her daughter Anna Rhae Wallace; her brothers Claude, August, Ramon, Richard, Andrew and William Liebhart; her sisters, Katherine, Audrey, and Helen Liebhart.

She is survived by her devoted daughter Barbara (Richard) Galick of Homer Glen; her cherished grandchildren, Jennie (Dave) Andrews of Fort Worth, TX, Christian (Diane) Nickel of Fort Worth, TX, Melissa (Patrick) Gleason, Sarah (Robert) Harjung, Jonathan and Marybeth Galick of Homer Glen; beloved great-grandchildren, Emily Andews, Caleb and Jonah Nickel; dear sister and last surviving sibling Mary Carol Jesiolowski of La Salle; sisters-in-laws Myra (William) Liebhart of Peru, Madeline (Richard) Liebhart of Oglesby, Delores (Marvin) Ecklund of Peru, Bernice (Marion) Passini of Sterling; son-in-law Lynn (Anna) Wallace of Granbury, TX; numerous nieces, nephews, and friends who all loved her dearly.

A special thank you to the entire staff at River Crossings of Joliet and Transitions Care Hospice who cared for Gita during this ongoing COVID pandemic.

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