Carol Wright Smith
OBITUARY
Carol Elizabeth Wright Smith, 63, of Ventura, CA passed away Thursday morning, February 5, 2026, in the arms of her husband, after a heroic battle with cancer. Carol was the daughter of Clydie and James Wright of Ventura. She is survived by her husband (Chris), children (Andrew and Allison), mother (Clydie), and brother (John). Born in Ventura on September 24, 1962, she lived with her family in Oxnard, graduating from Oxnard High School in 1980. She attended the University of California Davis (UCSD), where she met and married Christopher Smith of Waialua, Hawaii, in 1982. Her marriage at the Olivos Adobe in Ventura was officiated by her aunt, Pastor Mary Gillespie. After UCSD, she obtained her graduate degree, along with her husband, at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. While there, she also had two beautiful children, Andrew and Allison. They returned to California in 1996, where she was a cellular biologist with the University of California, San Diego. She then took up biology instructional support at Bernardo Heights Middle School and Miramar College. After moving back to Ventura in 2013 to help care for her elderly parents, she continued her education support interests and teaching at Ventura College. She was an ardent lover of animals, providing homes for horses, llamas, sheep, bunnies, turkeys, ducks, chickens, and tortoises at her home-farm in Ramona, California. She also lovingly cared for her standard poodles: Pi, Einstein, Avogadro (Rho), Fibonacci (Phi), and Newton. Carol was also very interested in family ancestry, tracing her American roots back to Ireland, Scotland, England, and Germany. Although she did not get a chance to visit her ancestral homelands, she did travel extensively domestically with her husband and young children, camping and hiking, especially in California. Carol also had a green thumb. She loved gardening, especially growing a wide variety of native California and tropical plants. She was a prolific reader of non-fiction (science) and fiction (mysteries), and an ardent watcher of British “who-dunnit” mysteries, as well as animal and cooking shows. She will be dearly missed by friends and family, especially her husband, for whom she was a beacon of light and conscientiousness.
A memorial service is planned for May 9, at the Poinsettia Pavilion, Ventura, starting at 11:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a generous donation to the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation or the Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) Foundation (Ventura, CA). UCLA Health and CMH physicians and nurses provided exceptional care and support for Carol during her cancer ordeal.