Virginia Anne Smith Hembree

Born G. Virginia Smith to Alice May Sutton and Derek Gordon Smith on April 21, 1934, in Commerce, Georgia, she tenaciously went by the name Anne her entire life. She was a devoted wife to Robert E. Hembree, Jr., for 54 years and mother to their four children, Sherry, Karen, Nick, and Wendy.

Anne was the only surviving child of three when she married “Bobby.” She eagerly adopted all twelve of his siblings as her own. She and her young family lived in Atlanta and the metro-Atlanta area before settling in Inman in 1974. She spent more than half of her life in the beloved home she and her husband built at the end of Hills Bridge Road. Surrounded by nature, she loved to birdwatch and took near daily walks. She loved music, sang often and though generally a quiet person, she was an uncommon host who often served as the belle of the party. Anne loved a corny joke; a good story and she kept a daily journal that her family will cherish. She adored her home-away-from-home on the Tallulah River in Rabun County. The friends that she and her husband made there formed a beautifully warm community in their twilight years. She loved her family fiercely and was well known for her courteous but determined independence. And as all who knew her know well, she loved to read and taught others to love books, passing the trait on to her children, her eight grandchildren (Joy, Rose Lynn, Brandon, Lea, Alina, Devin, Richie, and Avery), and to her great-granddaughter, (Julianna).

Anne spent her last weeks surrounded by her friends, her siblings-in-law, her daughters, and her grandchildren. The family held a private funeral at the Inman Methodist Church Cemetery where she rests in peace alongside her husband and mother, very near to the home she shared with her family.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider supporting a reading program: https://www.rif.org/how-to-help or help protect America’s birds at https://abcbirds.org/ in her memory.