CLAZINA JOSEPHINA DEGROOT SMIT
March 8, 1940 — February 25, 2020
Clazina Smit, our bright and inquisitive mother, quietly slipped away as the sun rose above the apple trees on the ranch she farmed with her late husband and our beloved father, Johannes Smit. She was just shy of her 80th birthday. Clazina was born in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands, two months before the Nazis invaded and occupied her native Holland. She was the eleventh of sixteen children born to a seed salesman and his wife, Cornelius and Maria deGroot.
In 1952 Clazina and her family immigrated to America in pursuit of greater opportunities. Sailing into New York Harbor she first gazed upon the Statue of Liberty as a girl of eleven years. The family made their way to California where they settled on Roberts Island. Clazina attended public schools and discovered her love of learning, eventually graduating from St. Mary’s High School. Her lifelong dream was to attend college and become a social worker.
Events intervened. Unknowingly, friends arranged for her to meet Johannes, a dashing young man who had himself immigrated from the Netherlands in 1956. The two fell in love and were married in August, 1959. In the next eleven years, they
were blessed with the addition of their seven children: Alida, Johannes, Rosemary, Niel, Roy, Steven, and Paul.
Clazina’s favorite era was the years on the dairy she and Johannes first established in Manteca, eventually acquiring their own 160-acre farm in Linden. After some years the Smits eventually sold the dairy, and Clazina started and managed a group home for boys. She believed her endeavor made a difference and some of the boys, now grown men, have stayed in touch with her. Clazina and Johannes’ last undertaking was the Smit Ranch, where they successfully raised organic fruit for local and California farmer’s markets – apples, grapes, stone fruit, and cherries. In this, Clazina immersed herself, becoming a knowledgeable and talented producer of quality fruit.
Clazina enjoyed many travels with friends and relatives in her later years. One of the last pleasures in her life was her return to Ellis Island last summer where she viewed the manifesto listing the members of her family who had entered America on that day long ago in 1952. She also cherished her book club friends, relished hunting for antiques, gardening and creating collections.
Clazina is survived by her seven children, 19 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. Her family invites you to celebrate her life beginning with a mass on Thursday, March 5th at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joachim’s Catholic Church in Lockeford, California. A luncheon will follow along with a birthday toast. Burial will be held at Lodi Memorial Cemetery and Park at 3:30 p.m., beside her beloved Johannes.
In lieu of flowers, you may send donations to Hospice of San Joaquin or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Please sign the guest book at lodinews.com/ guestbook.