Thelma Nadine Donham was born to Claude Earl “Jack” Sr and Vera Nadine (Willhour) Donham on March 14, 1934, at the family home in Wichita, Kansas. Nadine was the oldest child, followed by Nancy, Claude “Butch” Jr, Carl and Everett. Nadine attended various Wichita grade schools before starting tenth grade at East High School. She graduated from East in the spring of 1952 and enrolled in Wesley School of Nursing that fall. In the summer of 1953, Nadine kept the scorebook for her dad’s company fast-pitch softball team. It was here where she met Gene Smith. Gene joined the team by a friend’s invitation while on leave from the Marine Corp. Gene and Nadine were married the next summer on July 16, 1954, at St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Wichita. That fall, she began her last year of nursing school and she graduated in 1955. She worked in a doctor’s office until 1957 when their first daughter, Robin, was born. The young family then moved to St. Louis where Gene attended graduate school. Nadine worked third shift on the medical floor at a hospital to help support the family. Gene and Nadine then returned to Wichita, where their second and third daughters, Enid and Peggy, were born. In 1961, Gene and Nadine traveled to Oklahoma to attend evangelistic revival meetings. At these meetings, they both accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and established their home as one of faith and trutha legacy that has continued for generations. Gene returned to active duty in the Marines, and the Smiths moved to several Marine Corp bases including Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and Quantico in Virginia. Nadine raised their daughters alone for one year while Gene served in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968. The Smiths then moved to 29 Palms base in California where their fourth daughter, Amy, was born. In 1970, the family moved back to their Oak Street house in Wichita so the girls could attend Berean Academy as they entered high school. During this season, Nadine onc