Nina Ruth Nordgran Smith

Nina was born to Marge Moss Nordgran and Arbon R. Nordgran.

Nina left this world in peace on May 15, 2026 after being on Hospice for almost a year. She was tough and witty and funny until the end. She was also the guardsmen at the front door for the ladies when they had to step out. 

Nina was a Utah native and graduated from Bountiful High School in 1958 and was ready for life. She married her next door neighbor sweet heart Grant A. Hatch. She was also the first woman that was hired up to South Davis fire Department as an EMT and fire fighter.

They were married for 15 years and traveled the United States as Grant was active military in the Air Force. They lived in 4 different states and had three children. Todd was the first born in 1961, Tristina in 1962 and adopted Dustin while stationed in Florida. He was born in 1969. They later divorced and Nina and the kids moved to New Mexico. After divorcing Nina found her cowboy , Virgil Smith, and they were married for 6 years and lived on a beautiful horse ranch in the Hondo Valley. She was well known for her amazing cooking skills and especially her home made bread. They later divorced and Nina and the two younger kids moved in with her mother for a year where she was a manager for a pizza place. The two boys moved to Germany to live with their Dad and Nina and Tristina moved into a townhouse for a year and then Nina moved to Oakland California where she joined the Navy. She worked on Treasure Island for a few years and then was stationed to Tokyo Japan for 6 years where she was a Naval first class petty officer and served as a detective for the Navy. Nina was a full time war veteran for 17 years as she had served during the Gulf War. Nina was then transferred to the Bremerton Naval base where she received an honorable discharge as the men just did not like a woman who was their boss...Nina joined the Seattle police department and became a police officer as a detective for the fraud unit. She served their for 23 years and retired with full recognition..Nina had a beautiful townhouse in Bremerton and took great pride in her yard and deck and backyard. It was always beautiful. Nina then moved back to Utah with her Daughter and her husband for a few years and then lived with her sister for 10 years until she fell and broke her femur and pelvic and became wheel chair bound. She lived at Oakridge assisted living facility for over 4 years where she passed peacefully under hospice care.

Nina traveled the world and had a blast while being in the Navy. She traveled to Guam and Thailand and Mexico and any other place that looked fun for her. Nina then took out her endowments in April of 1992 with her daughter Tristina. She continued to serve the Lord with many callings and worked in the LDS Seattle Temple for many years. She would head over there after work and put in a 4 hour shift.

Her daughter Tristina was the only one to marry and was married to Bill Bown and they raised her two boys. Kody Olson—great grandchildren Jaden, Kash, Rockwell, Presley,Tenley. Kerby Olson/Ellie great grandchildren Krew, Kohen, Keller, Kambell.

Nina was very loved at Oakridge assisted living facility and we would like to thank Tasha, Elana, Ember and the rest of the team for taking such good care of her. We will miss them terribly and would also like to thank her hospice team Samantha and Brenda.

Nina is preceded in death with her mom Marge Moss Nordgran and her Father Arbon R. Nordgran. She is survived by her two siblings Rae Dixon and Arbon Nordgran.

A celebration of life for her will be held on Saturday May 30th, 2026 from 2-4 pm at the West Bountiful 1st Ward, 311 North 800 West, West Bountiful, Utah.

Please come join us for snacks and treats and a shared experience with her. She would love to hear the fun stories.