Colette Smith

Colette Rooney Smith, 81, of Portage, Michigan, died on July 15, 2025. She lived her life the way we all hope to be remembered: with humor, generosity, loyalty, and love. She never wanted to be the center of attention, but to her family, she always was.

Colette was born in Athens, Michigan, to George Emmet and Marion Dalton Rooney. She was the third of four siblings and a proud daughter of a small-town grocer. We grew up on her stories about that little town: tales from her dad’s store, a cast of neighborhood characters, and so much laughter we still repeat today. She kept in touch with friends from grade school and talked about them often.

She graduated from Athens High School and Western Michigan University (a proud Bronco for life) and spent nearly 40 years teaching middle school English and Science at Paw Paw Public Schools. She had a rare gift for connecting with middle schoolers (yes, on purpose!), and they loved her for it. She joked with them, respected them, and understood them. Decades later, she could still spot a former student across the grocery store and usually remember them by name.

Her friendships were often quiet and long-lasting. She had a way of remembering what mattered to people and making them feel seen. Her fellow teachers became dear friends, and their bonds lasted well beyond retirement. Still, we often joked that her other best friends were the staff at the grocery store and the pharmacy, people she saw nearly every day and treated with the same warmth and care she showed everyone she loved.

In 1975, she married Robert (Bob) Smith of Granger, Indiana. For fifty years, their partnership was the quiet center of her world. They shared deep friendship, lots of laughter, and a life built around the people they loved most, including their two daughters, Carolyn Colette and Sarah Rooney. Their home was full of music (she had a song for everything!), laughter, and love. She was the kind of mom who would fix a toilet, walk into your bedroom singing “Ice Ice Baby,” and still have dinner on the table. She danced to N*SYNC, sang the Hukilau and taught us the moves, and was the resident handyman. She carried dog treats in her pocket for the neighborhood dogs but always had extras for Sarah’s dog, “Mrs. Reebs” (Reba). “Mama Smith,” as her daughters’ friends called her, was everyone’s second mom, the one you called when yours wasn’t around.

Bob and the girls are proud of the wife and mother she was, and the girls are proud to carry both of her names. They're especially thrilled when someone says they sound or look like her. She often told us, “Home is where your mom is.” For us, that was always true.

She also told us, “Don’t forget to rinse the bottles and cans before you put them in the garage. Otherwise, the chipmunks will get drunk. It’ll be a whole thing.” With her, there was always a balance between love and laughter, though she often didn’t know just how funny she was.

She adored her siblings: Jane (Leroy) Barnard, Kathleen (Walter) Baggott, and Ed (Nancy) Rooney. She kept close ties with her nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family. She shared a lifelong bond with her aunt Tante (Jane Vandenbelt), whose house in Pentwater became a summer tradition for generations, and whom she lovingly helped care for in later years. She was also close with Bob’s mom, Jane Smith, whom she cared for until the end of her life at 95.

She never made a big deal about her beliefs, but she knew what she believed. As we’ve wrestled with the weight of losing her, it brought us comfort to know she wasn’t afraid of what came next. As her time here ended, she knew she was going home to a place without pain and full of love. We like to think waiting to welcome her were her parents, Tante, Grandma Smith, and two special sisters-in-law, Nancy and Karen.

Mom always said you can’t love someone more than ten bushels. That was the limit, according to her dad. So that’s how we’ll send her off: we love you ten bushels, and not one bushel less.

Mama Star - Bobby, Little C, and your Little Star will see you when you send down a cloud for us to ride.

The family will not hold a service right away but may plan a memorial gathering in the coming weeks or months to celebrate the love and laughter she brought to all of us.

We are so grateful for the love and kindness shown, including the beautiful flowers we’ve already received. We kindly ask that no more flowers be sent but if you’d like to honor Mom’s memory, please consider sharing a favorite story, memory, or simply spending a moment reflecting on the joy she brought to our lives. Your love and support mean the world to us.