Nola "Dolly" Ardis Smith

Our mother, Dolly Smith, always said, "I DO NOT WANT AN OBITUARY!". She would say that people were usually portrayed as being better than they were in their obituaries.

We asked, "you don't want anyone to know that you passed away?"
She would reply, "the people who care will already know." So, you don't want anyone to know that you were born in Gonvick, MN, in 1932 and graduated from Mahnomen High School, and went on to earn your master's degree in Education from Moorhead State University? "That is correct," was the standard answer.

Or that you married Gene Smith in 1954, married for 60 years, and have three children Dan (Barb) Smith, Lisa (Terry) Saeger, and Leslie (Barry) LaBine, plus five grandchildren, Ian (Katrina), Hannah (Kyle), Sam (Christina), Max, Ava and one great grandbaby, Quinn? "Everyone already knows that about me," she would say.

Well, how about the fact that you spent over fifty years teaching, with 45 years in the Fargo Public School System helping children with learning disabilities and a favorite of many students? "No," she said, "I don't think we need that in the newspaper."

How about that you were an outgoing people person and knew half of Fargo, recognized by your meticulously coifed blonde (and later white) hair setting off your outfits that matched down to the shoes? And that you had a wry sense of humor? She would laugh and say, "definitely not."
"Just put my name, the day I was born, and the day I flew away."

Ok, so you want something like this?
Nola "Dolly" (Olson) Smith
Born: September 1st, 1932
Died: February 16th, 2023, at the age of 90

Is that Ok, Mom? "Yes, that may even be too much," she would say

She also left instructions; I DO NOT WANT A FUNERAL. "I do not want to be on display like a stuffed turkey with people milling by, thinking I maybe should have had one last eyebrow waxing."

"Just my family with a private service graveside."

"Ok, mom, we can do that."

Memorials are preferred to either the Ehlers-Danlos Society https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/giving/ or JDRF https://www.jdrf.org/donate/