Lonell Nicole Smoker, Thunder Bird Woman (Wagiya Wiya), 28, started her journey to the spirit world on June 21st, 2019. Lonell was welcomed with open arms by the Creator, her Ade’ Phillip and baby girl Jaceen. She was home surrounded by her mother, her love of her life, Jessie and her family.
Lonell was born on October 24, 1990 in Glasgow, MT along with her identical twin sister Donell. Lonell came from a very big family; she has eight sisters and four brothers. She grew up in Frazer and attended school at Frazer Public School. She participated in basketball, volleyball, track, cross country and cheerleading during her High School years. She loved spending time with her friends and enjoyed her High School years. Later, she fell in love with her fiancé, Jesse Nelligan and together they were planning a wedding. Within this union they welcomed two beautiful daughters, Jessa Nicole and Jaceen Rose.
Lonell loved spending all her time with her pride and joy daughter, Jessa. She was a dedicated mother first and foremost. She treasured her daughter and embraced every moment with her. She was so proud of her little family and had many aspirations of their future together. Lonell loved being a stay home mother and took pride in decorating her home and enjoyed collecting small knickknacks to display in her house. She was always decorating something and loved to make things beautiful.
Lonell was a very beautiful person inside and out. She was a giver and had a soft spoken kindness about her. She never wanted to harm anyone and wanted to share her love. Although, she had a beautiful soul, her family would tease her about being a little feisty ball of fire and having a fierce personality. She would defend her family to the utmost and was very supportive. Lonell Nicole was a twin but was definitely one of a kind.
Lonell enjoyed watching her nephews Saunder and DeShon play basketball and football, she was very proud of them both and would brag them up to anyone who listened. After her nephews graduated high school she turned her attention on her beautiful nieces Kaylandra and Mikaya. She also loved watching them play basketball and volleyball and tried to attend as many of their athletic events she could. She also loved to spend time with all her other nieces and nephews and supported them all. She loved them all so very much and loved being the best aunty. As they grew up, she would have her nephews and nieces measure up to her to see if they were taller than her, but as they passed her in height. She would laugh stating they were bigger than her little 4’11 stature but claimed she was 5’0 tall.
Lonell enjoyed writing poems and taking pictures. She collected all her writings, poems and pictures in her many scrapbooks and showed them to her friends and family. Lonell wrote her family special letters, letting them know her wishes and how much she loved them. She enjoyed cruising around and listening to music. She always had a speaker with her wherever she went so she could jam out to her favorite music. Lonell had many friends and enjoyed visiting with them as they would come over and see her throughout her last days here on earth. She had many stories to share about her life and experiences. Lonell also enjoyed fishing and being outdoors. She liked camping and sitting by the camp fire even just to visit. If you knew Lonell, you knew she liked to cook and eat, especially her favorite traditional foods. She loved tongue soup, taniga and straight guts, kidneys, and many other cultural foods. She was known to be frying steak any time of the day and night. Her family would tease her about where she put it all because she was so petite.
Tragedy hit the family as Lonell was diagnosed with breast cancer. When Lonell received the news about her terminal cancer two years ago, she wanted to live her life to the fullest. She battled cancer courageously and never gave up her fight. Lonell wrote list of everything she wanted to do with her family in her final months. She named it “My Bucket List with my Sisters”, which involved watching home movies, slumber parties, many dinners involving her favorite foods, having bon fires in the backyard and making smore’s, giving her baby Jessa the best birthday ever, and many other special family events. Lonell spent her last days enjoying her life: spending time with her loved ones, and sharing the gift of living in the moment. Lonell was a very giving and caring person, who always had something to give to all of her sisters, brother, nieces and nephews, she loved to do that. She had a loving heart and would help out anyone that asked for it any way she could. Her attitude was very inspiring as she didn’t back down. Her pain and suffering is now over, for she is strong and healthy again and rejoicing with her family in the spirit world. Lonell was loved very much and will be missed greatly. She will live on Forever in our Hearts and will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace our beautiful Lonell.
Lonell is preceded in death by her fathers, Phillip Smoker, & Loren “Sonnyboy” Smoker, baby girl Jaceen Smoker-Nelligan, Grandparents: Allyn and Pauline Smoker, Wilson and Josephine Jackson and many cousins, aunts and uncles.
She is survived by her fiancé, Jesse Nelligan and her daughter Jessa Nelligan, her loving mother Rosalie Smoker, sisters Sonya (Jamie) St. Marks, Tiana (Mike)DeWitt, Sheena Smoker(Curtis White), Teera (Alexander)Kelsey, Rhea Smoker, twin sister Donell Smoker, LaToya Turntoes, and Natalie Smoker, her brothers, Phillip “Choya” Smoker, Lionel Smoker, Curtis Smoker and Sheldon Smoker. A very special aunt & uncle Adeline & Bobbi White, Her special nephews Saunder St. Marks, DeShon and Trayce Smoker-DeWitt, DeShane and Daxis Smoker, nieces MiKaya and Milayna Smoker-DeWitt, Kaylandra and DeShaya St. Marks, KiAnn and Kellyn Smoker-Randall and many other family members who loved her.
A traditional four day feast will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, June 24th at the Community Hall in Frazer. A Wake will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 25th also at the Community Hall in Frazer. Lonell’s funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 26th at the Frazer Community Hall. Interment will follow at the St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Frazer with a luncheon to follow.