Willieann Viola Thomas Smith

Mrs. Willie Ann Smith was born January 25, 1918 in New York City, to David James and Josephine Beatrice Thomas. The oldest of five children she was educated and graduated from Mamaroneck Public School System in Westchester County, New York. She married Samuel Isaiah Smith in 1941 and bore four children; Gloria Ann Smith-Simon, Gwendolyn Lenore Smith (deceased) Roger Leroy Smith, and Sandra Arlene Smith-Green. She worked and retired from B. Altman’s department store in New York and sold Avon for numerous years. She was extremely fond of all her children who each held a special place in her heart. Her kind and generous spirit made her a phenomenal woman. She lived a long and good life. She had eight grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and even lived to see her great, great grands.

Willie Ann had a deep appreciation for FAMILY and loved to see them come together to enjoy meals and each other’s company in the spirit of Love. Her wish was for the family to get to know one another. She expressed this to her oldest daughter Gloria, who lovingly cared for her and was by her side to the end.

She was preceded in death by her husband, one daughter, two grandchildren, and three siblings (David, Matilda & Albert Thomas.) She is survived by her Sister Pauline Moss, of Decatur, Illinois. She had numerous cousins, and a host of nieces and nephews who affectionately called her , “Aunt Willie”. One nephew, Dwayne Thomas, held a special place in her heart and she affectionately referred to him as her youngest son. Willie Ann Smith was dearly loved and will be mourned by a host of other family members and friends. As her son Roger recounted, “We loved her, but God loved her more”.