WINDER – Erlene Hendricks Smith passed away quietly at her residence in Winder, on Saturday, June 7, 2014.
Erlene was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, church member, volunteer and business partner with her husband P. R. (Bobby) Smith, and will be missed greatly by her loving family and many friends. She was born in Belton, S.C. on October 12, 1926, and was preceded in death by her husband, Bobby, and her parents, Grace and Candler Hendricks.
Family came first with Erlene and she was an inspiration and source of love and support to her family her entire life. She was also a true partner with her husband Bobby in the family farming-related businesses and continued to run them after Bobby died. Ever inquisitive and always wanting to learn, Erlene expanded those family businesses shepherding them through growth and diversification.
Erlene was a devoted member at the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Winder. She was always ready to help with community outreach projects and was very proud to be a founding member of the, Belles, her church’s first hand bell choir. A long-term resident of Winder, Erlene enjoyed living in Washington, DC, where she was a full-time volunteer to First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Erlene loved her family and church, traveling the world, particularly cruising, her diverse interests expanding her mind, but always glad to return to her life-long friends in Barrow County, where she was proud to call home for over 65 years.
Survivors include siblings, Jean Thompson and Ronald Hendricks, and was preceded in death by a sister, Janette Russell.
Her surviving family are her son P.R. (Phil) Smith, Winder; daughters and sons-in-law, Victoria Smith and her husband James Godfrey and Janet Smith Costello and her husband John Costello, all of Atlanta; son Timothy Smith and his wife Shawn Smith, Dacula; and two grandsons, Candler Smith and Thomas Smith, both of Dacula.
Erlene requested cremation and a Celebration of Life on Thursday, June 26, at 11 a.m. in the First Christian Church of Winder. Interment will be at Smith Family Cemetery in Winder.
The family requests that you send donations to First Christian Church in Winder in lieu of flowers.
Smith Funeral Home, Winder, is in charge of arrangements.