Laverne Smerz

LAVERNE BILLIE SMERZ (née ROBINSON), age 91, of Bristol, Tennessee, went home to be with the Lord on October 22, 2026. Born on January 1, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, LaVerne was the daughter of the late William Robinson and LaVerne Surlet (Earl).

In addition to her parents, LaVerne was preceded in death by her sister Joan Pellegrino (née Robinson), grandsons Paul Renner and Kyle Melda, and husband Frank Smerz, who was the great love of her life for 68 years. Her family are at peace knowing they are reunited once again.

Those surviving LaVerne to embrace her memory include daughter Karen and husband Gerry Renner of Kingsport, Tennessee; daughter Kimberly and husband Keith Melda of Bluefield, Virginia; grandchildren Mark Renner of Kingsport, Tennessee; Eric Renner of Addison, Illinois; and Ashlee and Paige Melda of Bluefield, Virginia. She also had many grand-dogs and other grand-animals whom she loved dearly, always looking forward to receiving a picture and being sure to ask about how they were doing with every phone call.

LaVerne, whose jobs included being a bus driver for people with intellectual disabilities and a hostess for executives, enjoyed nothing more than making people smile. This was perhaps no more evident than when it came to her beloved grandchildren, whose childhoods were filled with endless trips to Chuck E. Cheese and introductions to various restaurants around the suburban Chicagoland area, of which they still crave to this day. The wife of a lifelong and diehard Chicago Cubs fan, LaVerne also loved sitting next to her husband Frank learning all about baseball.

LaVerne has been laid to rest at the East Lawn Memorial Park in Kingsport, Tennessee. In keeping with the wishes of her family, all services will be private.