Gwendolyn Smith

SMITH, Mrs. Gwendolyn Jones – Age 87, passed away, Friday, May 22, 2009, at Maple Woods Manor. Family hour 11 AM Friday, May 29 at Fairhaven Seventh-day Adventist, G-1379 W. Louis Ave., with funeral service commencing at 12Noon, Pastor Charles R. Osborne III officiating. Family and friends will assemble at the church 11AM Friday. Mrs. Smith will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed from 2PM–8PM Thursday. Mrs. Gwendolyn J. Smith was born June 22, 1921 in Helena, Arkansas to Eli and Helen Dixon Jones, the third child in a family of nine siblings. The family later moved to the Flint area. She was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church at an early age. Gwendolyn received her formal education in the Seventh-day Adventist parochial school and the Flint area public schools. She graduated from Northern High School with honors in 1941. For some years after graduation, Gwendolyn worked in downtown Flint at Morrison’s Department Store. Seeing her potential, concerned mentors at her job, church and community encouraged her to continue her education. In 1946, she enrolled in Oakwood College, a Historical Black College, in Huntsville, Alabama, graduating in 1950 with highest honors, #3 in her class, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. Gwendolyn was immediately hired as administrative assistant by Allegheny Conference, in Pennsylvania, later moving to Chicago, Illinois, in the same position with an associated news company for three years. Seeing her potential to be more than “someone who took dictation and put down other peoples thoughts,” again she was encouraged by a mentoring employer to continue her education. She enrolled in Chicago Illinois Teachers College, completing her Master of Arts Degree in the field of Education in 1966. She was hired by the Chicago Board of Education, first as a day-to-day substitute teacher, and later assigned to the Reese Elementary School, West Side Chicago. Despite many requests to move to more affluent neighborhood schools, her dedication to the children of inner city Chicago allowed her to give years of quality education to the children of Reese Elementary, retiring in 1985. It was in Chicago that Gwendolyn met and married Winfrey O. Smith on April 21, 1961, her beloved husband of 41 years. Mrs. Gwendolyn J. Smith is survived by: brother, Sylvester (Deborah) Jones; 3 sisters, Vera L. Miller, Lottie M. Harris, Esther L. (Edward) Mattox, all of the Flint area; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends. Mrs. Smith was preceded in death by her parents and husband; brother, Alexander Jones: and 2 sisters, Helen Friend and Pauline Taylor. The family wishes to thank Dr. O. S. Iung and the caring Staff of Maple Woods Manor.

Gwendolyn Smith

June 21, 1921 - May 22, 2009