Gwendolyn was born on August 12, 1931 in Butler, Missouri to Walter L. Smith and Eujetta C. Gravette Smith. She graduated from Emporia High School in 1948. In 1952, she graduated from Emporia State Teacher's College. Later, she graduated from the University of Missouri - Kansas City with an M.A. and Educational Specialist degree. As a retired teacher, she taught in Louisiana, Ohio, the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, and finally in Missouri.
Gwendolyn held memberships in the International Reading Association, Phi Delta Kappa, American Association of University Women, NAACP, National Council of Negro Women, Oklahoma Historical Society, Missouri Historical Society, Florida Historical Society, Kansas Historical Society, Kentucky Historical Society, Schomberg Center for research in Black Culture, Descendants of the Five Civilized Tribes and several Genealogical Societies.
Gwendolyn was an active researcher of her DNA ancestry, which she has been able to date back to the 1600s. She credits her parents for instilling in her values of educations, helping others, and having respect and love for all of God's people.
Gwendolyn was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas J. Ashby, her parents, Walter L. Smith and Eujetta C. Gravette Smith, brother, James L. Smith, and nephew, Jason D. Smith. She is survived by a cousin, Mary Ellen Stuart, nieces, Amintha Rainey, Natalia Smith, Casondra Alford and Carolyn Shepherd, and nephews, Troy Smith and James Smith.
Services will be held on Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 11:00 am at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 7049 Blue Ridge Boulevard, Raytown, Missouri 64133. Burial will follow in Mount Moriah Cemetery.
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