Elisabeth Hedwig Smith (Liesel), 87, of Brick, NJ and of Los Banos, CA, passed away on September 17, 2016 at the Claremont Care Center, Point Pleasant, NJ.

She was born in Kaiserslautern, Germany moving to the US with her husband and children in 1956.

Liesel did not enjoy flying but traveled to and resided in many different places as the wife of a U.S. Air Force pilot.

She enjoyed playing bridge and mah jongg, was a member of the various Officers Wives' Clubs and was known to enjoy a good German schnapps. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Liesel was preceded by her loving husband Andrew, her parents Jacob and Elisabeth (Ella) Diehl, and a brother Karl-Heinz Diehl, as well as her cousin Elisabeth (Elly) and husband Rudy Schuster.

Liesel is survived by her daughter, Elisabeth (Liz) Smith and husband Charles Cantalupe of Brick, NJ; son, Andrew Smith and wife Margaret Schlange of Lemitar, New Mexico. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit the Whitehurst Funeral Chapel, Los Banos, CA on Friday September 30, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home followed by interment in the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, Santa Nella, CA. A memorial service in New Jersey will be scheduled in the future. For more information or to leave an online condolence message to the family please visit our website www.whitehurstfunerals.com.