Novella Smith Cromer

1939 - 2025

"A Force of Nature". That was a frequent refrain.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Novella Smith (Arnold) Cromer, age 86, on August 1, 2025. A force of nature has been extinguished.

Novella was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1939, to Emmett Doe, Sr. and Lula Wells. Before high school she moved with her family to Munich, Germany where her father was stationed in the Army. She graduated from Munich American High. It was in Munich that she met her first husband, J. Leonard Smith. They moved back to the states and settled in Houston, TX. After graduating from Texas Southern University, she embarked upon her first career in radio.

In the 60's and early 70's she was one of the most prominent personalities on radio in Houston. By day, she was "Dizzy Lizzy," host of a popular soul show on KYOK; on Sunday evening she became the "Sleepy Time Gal" on KPRC, host of a jazz show which was syndicated throughout the Southwest. During this period, Novella was an engaged and visible Civil Rights Activist. After growing up in integrated communities in New York and Munich, Houston came as quite a shock. As part of her service to the Black community, she would "give the sign" on the radio when it was time to attend a protest march or engage in other forms of civil rights activism. She marched beside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King when he visited Houston. She served on the Executive Committee of NARA/NATRA (National Association for (Television) and Radio Announcers), the organization for Black media professionals when she was barely in her 30's.

As if being an activist and radio personality wasn't enough, she also worked for many of those years for Braniff airlines, allowing her to maintain high quality health insurance for her daughter. She used that same determination to ensure that in the segregated world of the late 60's, her daughter was able to have two world-renowned cardiac surgeons devise and perform successful surgery.

In 1973 the family moved to Memphis, TN and both Novella and Leonard joined Stax records. Novella was Director of Productions until the company's unfortunate demise. She oversaw the legendary stealth visit of Elvis Presley to record in the Stax studios to get that "Memphis Sound." After Stax, Novella moved on to sales. She worked for Pitney Bowes and IBM, becoming the first Black female salesperson in Memphis for both and making the 100 percent club every year. She saw her daughter off to college, then pivoted to a career in community service.

In the 80's, Novella began to keep the promise that she had made to herself and to God. She had promised that if her daughter Monique lived, she would dedicate herself to helping "the least of these." For the next 40 years, she did just that, advocating for those without a voice and for many causes that required a loud, persistent champion.

Among the many roles she undertook to serve the less fortunate were these:
• Host of "The Senior Citizen's Hour" on WHBQ, a radio show that highlighted services and activities available for seniors in the Mid-South;
Administrator of the "Criminal Justice Ministry" (based at Calvary Church) that:
o provided services to the families of the incarcerated;
o ensured that prisoners had humane conditions; and
o guaranteed that prisoners had the services to which they were entitled;
• Administrator of the "Street Ministry" (based at Calvary Church) that:
o provided resources to the homeless;
o coordinated counseling and medical services for the homeless; and
o provided guidance and support services for the urban poor
• Leader of The AIDS Burial Service, which provided funeral and burial services to those who could not afford services;
• Episcopal Chaplain (Children's Chaplain at Calvary and Prison Chaplain)

She was preceded in death by her husband Michael Cromer; her infant daughter, Kim; her brother Emmet Doe, Jr.; and her sisters Catherine Williams and Beulah Mackey. She is survived by her daughter, Monique J. Smith; and her sister Carol Doe Porter, two stepchildren Melissa Nowell and James Cromer, and numerous "chosen" sons, daughters and grandchildren.

Memorial services will be 2 PM Friday, September 12, 2025 at Calvary Episcopal Church, 102 N. 2nd St., Memphis.

In honor of her memory, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Novella Smith Cromer Scholarship Fund, Soulsville Foundation, 926 E McLemore Ave, Memphis, TN 38106.