Frankie Celeste Stevens Smith

Frankie Celeste Stevens Smith went to be with her loving Savior Jesus Christ on Sunday, December 11, 2016, following a brief illness. Frankie was born in Amite, Louisiana, on August 23, 1928, to the late Luther James and Edith Bankston Stevens. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 63 years, Bob, and her brother, Jerry Stevens. Frankie’s life was built around her love of God, her country, her family, and her love of and dedication to teaching elementary school. She always had a smile and words of greeting and welcome to all she met, and she never passed up an opportunity to tell people about the saving Grace of Jesus Christ and to invite them to visit her church. Frankie grew up in Amite, Louisiana, and following her graduation from high school in 1945, she entered Louisiana State University. While at LSU she met the love of her life, Robert “Bob” Franklin Smith, at the Baptist Student Union. They dated throughout college and married on February 11, 1950. Upon graduating from LSU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, Frankie worked as a social worker in Amite, and later in Shreveport, and Hobbs, New Mexico. While living in Farmington, New Mexico, Frankie decided to become a teacher, and she was allowed to teach while concurrently attending school at night and in the summer to get the requisite hours and courses needed to become certified. She taught elementary school in Farmington, Denver, and Tyler. Frankie loved to teach, and continually reminisced about her days in the classroom. She always reflected on the good things about her students and was always thrilled to see former students and parents of former students. An educator to the end, Frankie was working as an after-school tutor at the East Texas Crisis Center on the day before she entered the hospital. Laughter and joy are words that one can use to describe Frankie. She loved to laugh and make people laugh and always had something to say to brighten someone’s day. Forever an optimist, she was able to find the good side to almost every situation. She never dwelt on negative things and tried to avoid negative people. Believing that “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” Frankie stayed busy with various activities. She enjoyed canning and freezing vegetables from Bob’s garden and made jams and jellies from local blackberries and blueberries and Louisiana strawberries. She was active in Colonial Hills Baptist Church and the Joy Sunday School class and served many years as the class “social coordinator.” Frankie was also active in Alpha Eta Chapter of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an honorary society for women teachers, and Mary Tyler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also a Member-at-Large of the United States Daughters of 1812. Frankie is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Celeste and Robert Craig; her sister, Mary Freda Simpson; sisters-in-law, Nell Stevens and Jean Smith; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. A memorial service will be held at Colonial Hills Baptist Church, 7330 South Broadway, Tyler, TX, 75703, on Saturday, December 17, 2016, at 2:00 p.m., with Pastor Robert Carter officiating. A private burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers please consider a contribution to the East Texas Crisis Center, P.O. Box 7060, Tyler, TX 75711 (www.etcc.org); Colonial Hills Baptist Church, 7330 S. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75703; or a charity of choice.

Frankie Celeste Stevens Smith

August 23, 1928 - December 11, 2016