Celebrating Charlotte Ann (Cecil) Smith's Life and Legacy…

Family, Friends, and those I have not yet had the wonderful opportunity to meet,

~ I have contemplated this for quite some time and after some loving support and encouragement from those closest to my heart both near and far in distance, it has been suggested I set up a GoFundMe Page in Mom’s memory to help with things related to her care, some final bills, a potential remaining balance on her funeral bill, anticipated attorney fees and most importantly, I would dearly love to purchase a headstone for her gravesite. I personally have been off work since her accident and subsequent rehab. She required lots of constant hands on involvent and was afraid to be alone most days. This required lots of travel, financial strain and extreme lack of sleep but I’d do it all over again to to assure she got what she needed. She was extremely anxious about me returning to work until she recovered as she was so worried about what would happen to her. I didn’t want to live with any regrets or risk something happening and her being alone. Please be patient with me as I get this set up, updated, photos added. I will also do my very best to answer any questions you may have. 

~~Let me please start off by helping you remember the best things about her and also understand a little more about how we ended up where we are as well as letting you know how very grateful our whole family is for each of you that have reached out these past couple years, more recently since her accident in Feb but more importantly since her shocking rapid decline right before her passing. We appreciate each and every one of you & the role you played in her life. Please know that at her very core, she loved each and every one of you , YOU of course were her favorite, her #1, and she simply never missed a chance to pray for each and every single one of you! 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:3-4,6~~ Mama may be gone from us now, but God heard all those prayers she prayed those many years ago, and He is going to honor every last one. He’s going to finish the good work He began.

We cherish all of you who are family, friends, & former co-workers who honor the life and memory of my Mama. We are so grateful for those who were part of her care team, her medical providers and caregivers over the years but especially this last several months. There were a special select few that bonded so dearly with her, who often went above and far beyond. We appreciate all of the visitors while she was hospitalized and in rehab. You made it bearable and lifted her spirits. Thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers and love. We are so grateful. We held her hand, played her favorite music, I sang to her, shared church services with her (a couple Sundays prior to her passing, she responded/acknowledged that she could hear Pastor Steve praying for her! She smiled and looked so peaceful and rested. One week later we had to make the most difficult decision imaginable and she was transferred to hospice. ~ She had broken her femur in two places several mos ago which required extensive surgery. She also had suffered for quite some time from multiple heath issues but toward the end she suffered greatly due to complications due to non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, kidney disease, hepatic encephalopathy, COPD, CHF, severe anemia and iron deficiency which led to need for plasma, blood transfusions and other blood products. In the end her body systems were fighting against each other and ultimately failing altogether.

She was the wisest woman I ever knew. During one of the hardest times of my life, my Mama told me that God had given her the following scripture and how it had helped her so much when she was questioning so many of the hows & whys. ( I lean on this very piece of advice very much even at this particular time.) I wouldn’t know until years later just how much it would mean. “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.. Joel 2:25. She would tell me many years later that God had been true to his Word, repaid her many times over, and just how very blessed she was. Also, just how important it was to never lose faith no matter what the natural eye may see in front of you or what you may be experiencing. To never EVER lose my faith. Scripture says in Hebrews 11:11~~ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

She was also one of the strongest women I have ever known and such a shining example of a godly woman. She was my rock. My safety net. The family recipe keeper (known of course for her Buckeyes, her Pumpkin Rolls and so much more —taught the ladies of her church in Ohio several years ago how to make them in mass quantities so they could use them as a fundraiser for women’s ministries, same for her famous buttermilk biscuits and old fashioned sausage gravy that she used to take to GM!! She loved to bake and give them as gifts. She was a talented pie maker such as sugar cream or peanut butter pies!! One grandkid LOVED her peanut butter cookies, one loved her molasses cookies, some her wedding cake cookies, another Buckeyes lol. She was my morning coffee friend. The family prayer warrior. Everyone knew that they could call her day/night and she would drop everything at a moment’s notice!! She has made each of us feel as though we were the favorite, the most important. You never one time had to question her love for you. You felt every last bit of it. She made sure you knew. She was the only person I trusted wholeheartedly, without reservation or fear of judgement. Although, I definitely always knew she would 100% tell me the truth, not just what I wanted to hear. I could always count on her.

Many years ago Mom said she’d had a dream about being on a dance floor and she was dancing with Jesus. She recalled how it was the most beautiful, peaceful feeling she had ever felt. Something tells me that dream pales in comparison to the joy, the beauty and unexplainable peace she now knows.

It hurts our hearts that she is gone from us, but have assurance in our hearts that she is with the Lord. She has run her race well and has reached her just reward. We cannot begin to imagine the beauty of the crown she will wear. We look forward to the day when there will no longer be goodbyes, death, sorrow & tears. We wouldn’t call her back for anything in this world though. She is no longer in pain, no longer struggles to walk, she can RUN on streets of gold! She is not sick anymore, she is HEALED! She can breath easy now and we are positive she’s laughing with her belly and enjoying her new home. Please pray for our family in the coming days, weeks, & months as we navigate our new reality. Our lives were wrapped up and 100% centered around her. Not sure at all how to do this life without her. The stillness/silence has been deafening and the loneliness is overwhelming. I see her everywhere, in everything, even the smallest & simplest of things.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:13-16‬ ‭

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4: 7-8

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b]or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelations 21:4

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5: 6-8, 17

~~~My precious, sweet Mama, Charlotte Ann (Cecil) Smith, 78 years old, passed away at 3:22 am Saturday, July 6, 2024, at Parkview Randallia Hospital~ Inpatient Hospice Unit in Fort Wayne, IN.

Mama was born in McCook, Nebraska, on December 4, 1945. She was the daughter of Bevaun C. Graves and Pauline E. (Curry) Perez. My mama was blessed to be loved twice in her lifetime. She was married to Jennings C. Cecil for 24 years and together they had a daughter and a son, as well as helping to raise my 3 older sisters. Dad preceded her in death on August 8, 2012 after a 5-year battle with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. She later married Al H. Smith on August 8, 1994, and we would later unexpectedly lose him to his second stroke within roughly 5 years on July 23, 2017. Just 2 weeks shy of their 23rd anniversary. She had been missing her best friend and her greatest love, reunited once again. Although our hearts hurt with unbelievable pain & unimaginable loss, we have a blessed assurance of where she is. No doubts in our mind that she was greeted immediately by Jesus with open arms but also by her loved ones that she had missed so much. I believe at that time she will even see my 3 siblings that she lost during pregnancy, hug them, love on them and they will know their precious Mama at last.

Mom was a graduate of Stivers High School in Dayton, Ohio. She had been employed and retired from General Motors in Kokomo, IN, prior to our family moving to Ohio to help with my Uncle’s church while he battled cancer.

She received an Associate of Science in Nursing from Owens Community College in Northwood, Ohio. Mama had the heart of a giver & lived a life of serving and caring for others as a Registered Nurse for over 20 years. She would much rather GIVE than to receive.. Both of these were evident throughout her life.. In her role as a mother, a pastor/minister’s wife, a teacher, and finally as a nurse. She worked at the Medical College of Ohio in Med/Surg as well as the Renal Unit, & spoke often of how much she enjoyed her time working with the Urology group at a Surgery Center nearby in Toledo, OH, and lastly as a hospice nurse of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg, OH. It was there that she found her passion and home in nursing. HNWO was where she ultimately retired from.

Mama spoke of attending a Methodist church in Russiaville, IN with her father as a young girl. She often recalled and enjoyed sharing becoming saved in early adulthood at a small church in West Middleton, IN. It was then that she decided to serve the Lord for the remainder of her life. She loved to study the Word. It has been a joy as well as an honor to turn the pages of her Bibles and read her thoughts/see what she underlined & highlighted, what was significant to her. What a timeless treasure & gift that is. She was a gifted teacher in the church for years and later became Christian Education Administrator at her church in Ohio. She remained active for many years in the Women’s Ministry at her church where she also served as president for more than one term. She was a pastor’s wife for more than 15 years in IN and took on many roles and tasks at the church. She loved her family and friends with her whole heart. Never met a stranger. Was always a peacemaker and believed the best in everyone! She enjoyed crocheting, cross-stitching, and often gifted the beautiful blankets, pot holders and recipe boxes she made. She was a wonderful cook and found her peace in the kitchen. She glowed with joy and couldn’t wait to gift her meals and baked goods year round but especially her famous cookie & fudge trays at the holidays!

Mom had a daughter, a son, 3 beautiful stepdaughters, 21 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren; 2 brothers, 1 sister; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father, Bevaun Graves; mother, Pauline Perez; brother, Chuck Graves; sister, Becky Toney; sister, a stillborn baby; 3 miscarried babies; husband, Al H. Smith; and father of her children, Jennings Cecil.

Mama,

i will always remember you and Whitey starting each morning with coffee, devotion and prayer. July 6, you went to sleep and woke up to start your morning the happiest and most free you’ve ever been, no more sickness, pain or struggle. Instead of devotions and prayer, you’re worshipping at the feet of Jesus. Perhaps even dancing with him like in your dream..

It was the greatest honor of my life to give back to you and to care for you. I will cherish every bit of the time spent with you. I tried my best to do right by you. Every day for the rest of my life I will continue to do so. I could never begin to thank you adequately for the example you set for me as a woman, mother, wife, teacher, nurse and Christian. You were everything to me. You were my best friend. I can’t imagine my life without you. Morning coffee will never be the same. I’ll be alright after awhile.. Save me a seat at the table. I know I don’t always get it right, but I promise I heard everything and I will meet all of you up there someday. You have my word.

Good night Mama, I love you. God Bless you.

~Michelle