Melba Smith

Melba Lillie Smith passed quietly from this world in the presence of her family and went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on February 12, 2011. She was born Lillie Melba Vaught on March 17, 1925, near Bowie, Texas, in the rural home of John and Fern Vaught. She was raised on a farmstead near Roosevelt, Oklahoma, in the middle of the Great Depression. She graduated Class Valedictorian from Hobart High School in 1942. Shortly thereafter, she married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Hugh M. Smith, on March 9, 1945 and were inseparable for nearly 66 years of marriage. Melba is survived by her husband, Hugh Smith; and their three children: daughter, Debbie Metheny, her husband, Steve, and their children, Jennifer Freeman and her husband, Troy, and Julie Sims and her husband, Kyle; son, Bruce Smith, and his wife, Nancy, and their children, Makenna, Kyle, and Jeff Smith; daughter, Connie Metheny, her husband, Rick, and their children, Jamie Smith and her husband, Steven, Rachel Roberts and her husband, Brent, and Matt Metheny; also included are four great-grandchildren: Emma Grace Freeman, Ella Kate Freeman, Brady Sims, and Blake Sims. Melba is also survived by her brother, Walter Vaught and his wife, Sue, of Snyder, Oklahoma. She is preceded in death by her parents, John and Fern; and her sister, Imogene Vaught. Melba and Hugh were married during World War II. After the war, they lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Hugh attended OSU. They lived and raised their family in OKC until her death. They attended Portland Ave Baptist Church for nearly 60 years and always supported the Cowboys. Melba loved to fish with Hugh at their Eufaula lake cabin. They traveled together; square danced, gardened, laughed, loved, and supported their grandchildren's activities while always together. She leaves behind to her descendents a legacy of love, a love of family and a love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Services will be held at Portland Ave Baptist Church, 1301 N. Portland Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. A private Interment will be held before the services. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the church in her honor. To share a memory or condolence, visit www.mercer-adams.com www.mercer-adams.com