April Dawn Smith

At 12:08 P.M. on Thursday, May 7, 2015, April Dawn Smith, age 51, of Noblesville, IN passed peacefully from her earthly life into eternal life. April requested that she be cremated and that her cremated remains be spread across the Colorado Rocky Mountains in a special place where her daughters, Carissa, Ashley and Danielle camped and took many hikes. A private gathering of family and friends will be held in her memory. April is predeceased by her mother, Beverly Hodson. Survivors include the love of her life, Tony Crooks, daughters: Carissa Smith of Kokomo, IN and Ashley and Danielle Johnson, both of Denver, CO, father Charles Mercer and stepmother Bette Mercer, siblings: Nikki Dymond and Michael Miller-Mercer, grandchildren Christopher, Bryce and Ayden, her Aunt Jeanne, along with a host of family members and Frosty, her loving dog that April adored. April Dawn was born October 5, 1963 to Charles and Beverly (Sparks) Mercer. As a child she was inquisitive, vibrant, and caring. She grew up with a love of caring for others and she expressed this through the medical profession as a medical assistant. Her medical skills also helped her to attend to her mother during a long and difficult illness, while April, herself was battling her own medical issues. April met and fell in love with Tony Crooks, and over the last six years they built a life together, learning and experiencing their deep and lasting love for each other. Just weeks before her passing they were looking for a new house on one level that would work better for her medical needs. One of April's greatest attributes was in her caring and giving of herself to others. She found that it is better to give than to receive as she sacrificed things she needed and gave things to others instead. In recent years she became spiritually grounded, searched deep into the Word, and expressed her love for Christ. She will be greatly missed. Arrangements are entrusted to Hartley Funeral Homes Cicero Chapel where you may send condolences at www.hartleyfuneralhomes.com. Memorial contributions may be made in April's memory to the American Lung Association.