Rosalie Joyce Johnson Smith Zabriskie

Rosalie Joyce Johnson Smith Zabriskie passed away peacefully at her home in Murray, Utah, on August 26, 2026, surrounded by her husband, Russ, and her daughter, Dardree. She was 83 years old.

Rosalie was born May 15, 1943, in Provo, Utah to Clarence Raymond Johnson and Joyce Johnson. The oldest of five children, she grew up alongside her siblings Glade, Janelle, Jeff, and Julie. From a young age, it was apparent that Rosalie was exceptionally bright. She skipped two grades in school and graduated as valedictorian of Orem High School in 1960, earning a scholarship to Brigham Young University.

Life, however, had another adventure waiting for her.

Rosalie married Anthon Leon Smith, the first love of her life, in June 1962 and devoted much of the next several decades to what would become one of her greatest accomplishments: raising a very large and very busy family. Together, Rosalie and Leon had eleven children: Dardree, Daryn, Rosanne, Devyn, Jeremy, Christopher, Ashley, Daymon, Danielle, Skyler, and Gavyn.

Her children became the center of her world.

Rosalie was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for most of her life. Anyone who attended church with the Smith family knew when they arrived because they could fill nearly an entire pew by themselves. Her faith was important to her, and she was especially proud when her children served missions for the Church. She loved stories of the pioneers and family history and carried a deep love for her Heavenly Father throughout her life.

Rosalie believed her children were capable of remarkable things and then made it her business to make sure they believed it too. She pushed, encouraged, organized, chauffeured, typed, campaigned, decorated, reminded, and occasionally did more of a project than perhaps the child receiving credit for it.

When one of her sons ran for student body vice president in eighth grade during the height of Superman mania in 1978, Rosalie became his campaign manager and made hundreds of "Super Smith" buttons to hand out at school. He won.

When her boys worked toward becoming Eagle Scouts, Rosalie was there to make sure the requirements got finished. And because she hated sewing, Scout badges sometimes found their way onto sashes with the assistance of a hot glue gun.

She was enormously proud of her children's accomplishments, from spelling bees and Sterling Scholar awards to missions, graduations, careers, marriages, and simply persevering through life's difficult seasons. She took particular pride in seeing several of her children pursue advanced education and careers in medicine and dentistry, but no accomplishment was ever too small to earn her enthusiasm. She had a remarkable ability to make her children feel that what mattered to them mattered to her.

Rosalie attended thousands of games, performances, activities, ceremonies, and events over the years. She loved sports in general and, in later years, could frequently be found cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Utah Utes. She also became an enthusiastic Taylor Swift fan and especially loved the idea of Travis Kelce marrying Taylor Swift.

Her musical tastes were broader (and louder) than people might have expected. Rosalie loved rock and roll, particularly the music of the 1980s and '90s. Van Halen, Queen, Guns N' Roses, and Twisted Sister were among her favorites. Once, after borrowing a truck in which a Van Halen cassette had been left in the player, "Hot for Teacher" began with its famous drum intro. Rosalie was briefly convinced something had gone terribly wrong with the truck's engine.

Rosalie loved beautiful things and had a gift for making the world around her more beautiful. She was an exceptionally talented interior decorator and could refurbish a piece of furniture, transform a room, or breathe new life into an entire house. Her home always smelled like walking into a craft store, with various potpourris and Glade plug-ins to sweeten the air. She loved colorful clothes and rarely went anywhere without her makeup and nails done.

And she loved flowers.

Geraniums were her particular favorite. In the final year of her life, roughly twenty pots of them surrounded her home. Walking up Rosalie's sidewalk meant walking past the flowers she had carefully planted and tended.

Her house was much the same. Rosalie liked things clean, very clean! One son (Ash) remembers deliberately leaving sections of the newspaper scattered around the house as a teenager, only to watch them disappear almost immediately. A drinking glass left unattended for a few minutes might be washed and put away before its owner returned.

Rosalie knew how to work. As a young woman, she helped operate a family store with her parents and became an exceptionally fast typist, a skill her children appreciated when school reports were due in the days before home computers. Later in life, she worked for many years as an executive assistant at Zija, where she became known for her organizational ability and for keeping even the boss, David, on schedule and not yelling too loudly at clients.

She continued working well into her later years, most recently demonstrating products and handing out samples in grocery stores. In true Rosalie fashion, the job became about much more than samples or mundane work. She knew the store employees, brought them treats, made friends wherever she went, and saved samples for her children and grandchildren. She worked until shortly before the surgery that preceded her final illness.

Giving was one of Rosalie's love languages. She remembered birthdays and important events and loved finding gifts for people. Christmas meant her famous Christmas bags, prepared not only for her children but eventually for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well, never skipping one single kid along the way.

She also loved some of life's simpler pleasures: McDonald's hot fudge sundaes, and especially McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. For years, Rosalie proudly proclaimed herself a vegetarian, a definition that apparently still permitted both fish and the occasional bacon.

And then there was Diet Coke.

For many years, Rosalie could frequently be seen carrying her trusty 44-ounce mug, ready for its daily refill. She eventually gave up Diet Coke later in life, an accomplishment that those who knew her understood was no small feat.

Rosalie and Leon shared more than four wonderful and sometimes challenging decades together before his death in January 2006. Later that year, Rosalie found an unexpected second chapter of love when she married Russell "Russ" Zabriskie on November 10, 2006, in Reno, Nevada.

Russ became the second great love of her life, and together they embraced adventure. On one remarkable trip, they spent 44 days traveling through 44 states and driving more than 14,400 miles. They also spent two months traveling throughout Europe by car, boat, train, and plane.

Russ remembers that wherever they traveled, Rosalie had a way of attracting people. "Your mom was a rock star," he said. Everywhere they went, someone seemed to want a picture with her.

Together, Rosalie and Russ sang in the original Salt Lake Tabernacle, attended the St. George Temple, traveled extensively, prayed together each night, and shared a deep faith in Heavenly Father. Rosalie continued attending countless baptisms, missionary farewells, family gatherings, and milestones. Being present for the people she loved mattered to her.

Perhaps nothing mattered more.

In the final weeks of her life, Rosalie was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer. She faced it with the same determination with which she had faced so much else in her life. She rarely complained. Even while seriously ill, she remained far more interested in seeing her family, visiting with them, and enjoying the people around her than dwelling on what she was going through.

Rosalie was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, Anthon Leon Smith, and her beloved son, Skyler, who passed away in June 1983.

She is survived by her husband, Russell "Russ" Zabriskie; her children, Dardree (Scott) McClellan, Daryn (Lori) Smith, Rosanne (Cody) Ekker, Dr. Devyn Smith and Shelli Edgar, Jeremy (Pam) Smith, Dr. Christopher (Teena) Smith, Dr. Ashley (Becky) Smith, Dr. Daymon (Amber) Smith, Dr. Danielle Smith, and Dr. Gavyn (Eliana) Smith; her siblings, Glade, Janelle, Jeff, and Julie; 38 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and countless family members and friends whose lives bear the unmistakable imprint of her unique ability to love everyone.

Rosalie spent a lifetime pushing the people she loved to become a little more than they thought they could be. She wanted her children educated, faithful, hardworking, clean, well-dressed, and moving forward, even if sometimes that required her to light a fire under them.

She celebrated their victories, carried them through their disappointments, showed up for their games, remembered their birthdays, filled their Christmas bags, planted her flowers, handed out her treats, and loved them fiercely.

Her family will miss the annual birthday voicemail. The colorful clothes and turquoise jewelry. The spotless house. The rock music. The gifts. The grocery-store samples. The Christmas bags. The sports games. The 44-ounce Diet Coke mug and matching Coca-Cola collection in her kitchen.

Most of all, they will miss Rosalie, the woman who spent 83 years showing up for the people she loved with beautiful blue eyes and a bright smile that would always make your day better.

Funeral Services

A visitation will be held Friday, September 4, 2026, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the Relief Society Room of the Highland South Stake Center, 9626 North 6800 West, Highland, Utah.

Funeral services will follow at 12:00 noon in the chapel of the Highland South Stake Center.

Interment will take place following the funeral at Pleasant Grove City Cemetery, where Rosalie will be laid to rest near her first husband, Leon.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family invites those who wish to honor Rosalie to consider making a donation to Shriners Children's, the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, or the Kanab Branch of the Best Friends Animal Society.

Those who wish to livestream the service may do so at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/live/kJG1z-HKcPA?is=9aK_c53VGCiWC1ia