Janet "Jan" Smith, age 87, of North Platte, NE passed away on November 10, 2025 at Great Plains Health in North Platte.

She was born on November 16, 1937, the daughter of Ralph and Nellie (Lowrey) Newbrey at Cozad, NE.  Jan grew up and graduated from Cozad High School with the class of 1956. At the age of 17, she had her first job with the Cozad Newspaper setting type.

She married Bernie Gress in 1962, and they moved to Texas, where they owned a weekly newspaper. The couple returned to North Platte, NE in 1965 and Jan and Bernie owned a monthly newspaper. Jan wrote a column in the paper and produced a popular, well selling cookbook. She worked as a secretary in North Platte at several different offices. In 1981, she started working for the City of North Platte in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), where she worked for 19 years first as a secretary/bookkeeper, and then as the director of the program. She retired in 2000.

Jan married Fay W. Smith on August 11, 1984.

Jan was an avid reader and liked to do crossword puzzles. She liked to play solitaire on the computer, and to play other card games. More recently she was a regular card player at the North Platte Senior Center where she enjoyed playing Pinochle with a group of friends.

Jan is survived by her son, Brad (Angela) Gress of Lincoln, NE; grandsons Dylan Gress (Bethany) of Scottsbluff, NE and Carson Gress (Alex Van Nurden-Fiancé) of Bellevue, NE; Step daughter Diana Juker of Crosby, TX; Step son Jeff Smith (Darla) of Denver, CO; and many other step grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Proceeded in death her husband, Fay W. Smith in 2011; stepson Scott Smith Sr.; her parents; and her bothers, Grover, Fred, Leon, Wallace, Jay, and Robert Newbrey; her sisters, Bessie Zeigler, Lois Bullock, Mary Quinn and an infant sister Louise Newbrey.

Graveside Service will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, 2025 at Cozad cemetery with Pastor David Haynes officiating. A visitation on November 21, 2025  from noon to 7:00 p.m. with family receiving friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Carpenter Memorial Chapel.In Lieu of flowers memorials may be made to The City Parks Department to plant trees.

Carpenter Memorial Chapel has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Online condolences and expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.carpentermemorial.com.