JO ANNE SMITH

SMITH, JO ANNE - 70, was born July 19, 1942, in Rockwood, TN. On Sept 16, 2012, with family by her side, the Lord called our loved one home. She graduated from Rockwood High School (1960) and attended the University of Tennessee where she met O.T. (Othniel Tyrus) Smith, Jr. She and O.T. married June 9, 1962, and together they had three children: Lenice Arlene Folse, Othniel Tyrus Smith III, and Hazel Melinda Winston. Jo Anne Smith spent her life volunteering her time to programs such as Meals on Wheels, youth/women's groups at Westside Baptist Church in Warner Robins, GA and Asbury Chapel United Methodist Church in Rockwood, TN, and as a Troop Leader for the Girl Scouts of America. She worked for the Houston County Board of Education as a Library Clerk at Northside Jr. High School for 12 years (1987-1999). She also spent a great deal of her time helping those in need, being with her mother, children and grandchildren, traveling and working in her yard with her husband. She leaves behind her mother, Lenice Watts; her husband of 50 years, O.T. Smith; her children, Arlene (Tracy) Folse, Tyrus Smith III, and Hazel (Jeff) Winston; and 7 grandchildren: Jed (28) and Matt (26) Merrell, Tyrus IV (19) and Rachel (16) Smith, and Zach (19), Courtney (16) and Keeley (16) Winston; brother James Watts and sister-in-law Vickie Watts and brother and sister-in-law Kyle and Gaynell Smith; nephews and niece Lowell Watts, Daniel Smith, Amy (Smith) Ivan; cousins Leo Stinnett, Debbie (Stinnett) Daniels and Lori (Stinnett) Wright, Betty (Stinnett) Thomas, Clint (Sonny) and Patti Stinnett, Pete and Louise Stinnett. She is preceded in death by her father, James Thomas Watts. Funeral service will be conducted Thursday, September 20th at 10:00 am in the Chapel of Evans Mortuary with Pastors Knox Wimberley and Paul Johnston officiating. Interment will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery. Afterwards, a celebration of life will be held following lunch at the Asbury United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Evans Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, the family would like for donations to be made in honor of Jo Anne Smith to the Thompson Cancer Survival Center (TCSC) Foundation, Attention: Thompson Cares, 1915 White Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916 or Asbury Chapel UMC, PO Box 822, Rockwood, TN 37854. An online register is available at www.evansmortuary.biz