Mrs. Katherine Ida Smith

Columbia - Katherine I. Smith, 95, of Sandy Springs, Georgia died peacefully of natural causes on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Born November 10, 1920, in Houston, Texas, she was the third of six daughters born to the late Dick and Mary Miller of Houston, Texas. Katherine “Kay” Smith was the widow of John C. Wilkins to whom she was married for 12 years and of Lt. Colonel L.J. Guilbeau Smith (L.J.) U.S.A.F. Ret. to whom she was married for over 50 years. Kay and Jack enjoyed golf, music, travel, restaurants and going to estate sales. They also enjoyed attending their grandchildren’s activities together. Kay Smith was proud of her role with L.J. as an air force fighter pilot officer’s wife in WWII and often discussed the many bases that she and her husband had been assigned. Kay and L.J. enjoyed keeping in contact with the many friends she and L.J. met in the military, raising their three children, and traveling. Kay was a homemaker and real estate agent for many years in Atlanta. She greatly enjoyed her southern cooking, collecting cook books, bridge parties, friends, books, politics, roses, beautiful homes, the arts, and especially music. Surviving are her sons, Lyle J. Guilbeau (Jan) of Richmond, VA; Charles L. Guilbeau (Kathryn) of St. Louis, MO; daughter, Dr. Carolyn Jones of Columbia; grandchildren, Katherine J. Reeves (Dallas, Sr.); Whitaker Jones; Jennifer Guilbeau; Travis Guilbeau; Eric Guilbeau; Sophie Guilbeau; great grandchildren, Dallas Reeves, Jr. and Sterling Reeves; her sister, Jessie Hartnett of Dallas, Texas and numerous nieces and nephews. Those who preceded her in death include her sisters, Martha Koska, Anne Worthington, Mary Miller, and Frances Lyles. The family wishes to thank the staff of the Rice Estate, Bernardin House, for their loving care, special friend Cleavie Morris, and the staff of Compassionate Care Hospice. Memorials may be made to the Rice Estate Staff Development Fund, 100 Finley Road, Columbia, SC 29203. The family will gather for a private service in Atlanta on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.