BRIDGEWATER, MA ---- Josie Wayne Smith, beloved sister, niece, cousin and friend, passed away on Sunday, November 26, 2023, at Boston Medical Center. She was 43 years old and resided in Bridgewater, MA.
Josie was born on February 25, 1980, and was raised in Laconia, NH, by loving parents, Ken and Sue (Ryan) Smith, along with her older sister Alice (Smith) Ryan. She graduated from Laconia High School in 1999.
Josie had an AS in Human Relations focused on mental health counseling, then onto her BS in Business Studies and then her MS in Organizational Leadership. These courses and her love of her father Ken Smith who served in the US Navy, uncle Henry who served in the US Army, and Pepere´ Roland Smith who served in the US Army, paved the way in what became her focus and passion. Josie worked at Southern New Hampshire University as a military support specialist 2008-2011, then Northeastern University Veteran Services Specialist for Enrollment Services 2013-2017, and then Fisher College as a VA Certifying Official 2017-2020. By the time she started at Quincy College as the Military and Veterans Services Associate in 2020, she had honed her skill to be a master of her craft and really helped military veterans succeed in their educational goals. Josie had been noted as being the reason behind some veterans making it all the way to graduation. She is VERY proud of her Veteran students and the service that they gave to this country.
Josie was also a family person, she was considered a part of several families; her aunt Janet’s, uncle Terry’s and especially Laura Biechler, her best friend. They would spend Sunday’s cooking together, talking and hanging out all the time.
She is survived by her older sister Alice Mary (Smith) Ryan and her husband Dan, and nephew Kevin Michael Ryan. Josie is preceded in death by her father Kenneth Wayne Smith and mother Susan Mary (Ryan) Smith.
There will be no calling hours.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 10:00am, at St. Andre Bessette Parish at Sacred Heart Church, 291 Union Avenue, Laconia, NH 03246.
Burial will follow mass at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Garfield Street, Laconia, NH.
Celebration of Life will follow. Details to be announced at the burial.
For those who wish to donate flowers, Josie loved sunflowers, lavender and orchids, or Josie would be honored if you donated to Homes For Our Troops, 6 Main Street, Taunton, MA 02780, in her memory; it is a program that helps veterans with housing.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.