Willie Bell Smith

Willie Bell Green Smith was born into this life in Macon, Georgia on May 5, 1946. Her mother, Alice Viola Henning loved her beyond measure. She was a longtime member of Mt. Canaan Baptist Church where she served with the WMU.

She loved to cook and knew her way around any kitchen. Her home was the gathering place for good food, a lot of laughs, and love. She always sowed seeds of patience and kindness knowing one day she would reap that same harvest.

She was an independent woman and mother. She worked as a certified nurse’s assistant, as a cook, and was an impeccable housekeeper. While raising her six children as a single mother, but able to provide for them well beyond the necessities of life, exceeding the equivalent of a two-parent home. She remained dedicated to her Christian beliefs and brought up her children also knowing and loving the Lord.

Willie Bell experienced loss, good days, and bad days; but she never let it weigh her down. She enjoyed fishing, dancing, and being in the company of her family. She was the life and center of attention. A woman of few words, but she never would bite her tongue. She said what she meant, and meant what she said.

She passed peacefully in her home on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, surrounded by her family. She was preceded in death by her mother, Alice V. Henning, and two sons Kenneth Green and Stephen Green.

Willie B. leaves her loving children, James (Barbara) Miller of Gurdon, AR, Dorothy “Renee” Ivory of Atlanta, GA, Charleszetta (Lamont) Ivory of Gurdon, AR and Cynthia (Nathan) Jones of Gurdon, AR; fourteen grandchildren, twenty-five great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. She also leaves a sister, Mary Alice Sewell of Milwaukee, WI; special friends, Louise Cooks, Alfonzo Ross, Mildred Anderson, and Sandy Manning.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 15, 2022, at Mt. Canaan Baptist Church. The interment will be at Rose Hedge Cemetery.

Visitation will be Friday, October 14, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Pallbearers will be David Young, Brandon Booker, Shawn McClelland, Tray Hill, Jeremy Williams, Chris Williams, and Henry Charles Williams. Honorable to mention are James Miller, Brandon Smith, Ta’Quan Ivory, Nathan Jones, and Lamont “Flav” Glasgow.