Dorothy “Elnet” Smith departed this life into God’s presence on Monday, December 29, 2025, while surrounded by the love of her family. Elnet was born on January 9, 1931, in Morganza, Louisiana. Much of her younger years were spent in Louisiana.
In 1959, Elnet and her husband, Willie Jay Smith, made the Byrds Chapel community their home. She was a devoted mother and housewife. She especially enjoyed her love of baking and was known for sharing her gifts of carrot cakes and sweet potato pies. Elnet deeply loved her family, her church and her friends. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.
Elnet is preceded in death by her husband of forty years, Willie Jay Smith, and her grandson, Alex Burge.
Left to forever cherish her memory are her children, James (Lea Ann) Smith, Nancy Burge and Rebecca “Becky” (Jay) Kelly; grandchildren, Jason (Kristin) Burge, Jordan (Hunter) Waite, Parker Kelly, Austin (Cheyenne) Davis and Jake Davis; her five beloved great-grandchildren and her sisters, Rena Dewitt, Wanda Thompson and Ruth Ann Bushnell and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Elnet will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at Byrds Chapel Church beginning at 12:00 pm. Friends are invited to join the family for visitation from 10:00 am until the service begins.
Burial will immediately follow at Byrds Chapel Church Cemetery. Scott Burge, Hunter Waite, Austin Davis, Jake Davis, Todd Smith and Richard Smith will serve as pallbearers, with Jason Burge and Parker Kelly serving as honorary pallbearers.
