Elizabeth Anne (Smith) Ojalehto

Elizabeth Anne (Smith) Ojalehto passed away peacefully at Sunnyside Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va,. on Monday, November 2, 2026.

A native of Monticello, she was the only child of William and Eugenia Smith. She graduated from Monticello High School and attended Lindenwood College in Saint Louis, Mo. for one year prior to attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was a member of Chi Omega Sorority, Psi Chapter at the University of Arkansas.

Upon graduation, she taught school in Memphis, Tenn., along with her university and sorority sister. In 1961 she and her friend were hired to teach in Cheyenne, Wyo. where she met her husband George Ojalehto, an officer in the U.S. Air Force, supporting the U.S. Atlas Intercontinental Missile Program at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB). She married her husband in Monticello on November 29, 1963.

Anne moved many times as a devoted military spouse and made every place feel like home. From early assignments to Offutt AFB, NE and Patrick AFB, FL; to League City, Texas where her husband George was assigned to NASA at the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center. Their daughter Janet was born there in 1966, while their son John was born in Dallas, Texas while George was in graduate school at Southern Methodist University. 

While her husband was assigned overseas to Thailand in 1972, she moved to Monticello with her children to be near her parents and extended family. In 1973 the family moved to the next assignment in sunny Torrance, Calif.; moving again in 1976 to Alexandria, Va. where her husband was assigned to various positions in the Washington, DC area. They remained in Alexandria for 43 years where she taught school and eventually retired. She and her husband moved to Sunnyside Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va. in July 2020. Anne was always encouraging and supportive of her children's activities and interests, and loved hosting family and friends for Christmas and Easter. She was active in her church, Washington Farm UMC and made many lifelong friends. She loved to travel the world with her husband, family and friends. One of her favorite roles was the fun loving "Grammy" to her four grandchildren.

She is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, George Ojalehto; daughter, Janet Anderson (West) of Shreveport, La.; son, John Ojalehto (Tina) of Lake Wylie, S.C.; granddaughters, Ashley Anderson (Dan) of Oregon; Natalie Ojalehto of South Carolina; grandsons, Mac Anderson of Tennessee, and Will Ojalehto of South Carolina; great-granddaughter, Alice and great-grandson, Jack of Oregon.

A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, December 6, 2026, at 4 p.m. in the Meredith Chapel at Sunnyside Retirement Community. Burial of ashes will be conducted later at Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Vision of Hope UMC 1723 Port Republic Rd. Harrisonburg, VA 22801 or Washington Farm UMC P.O. Box 36 Mount Vernon, VA 22121.

John 11:25: Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die ... will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish".