Denise Smith Mourning

Denise Smith Mourning died December 29, 2025, at the age of 74 due to metastatic cancer. She was born on December 26, 1951, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Willie M. Smith, Sr., and Emaline Hart Smith.

She was educated through parochial schools in Norfolk and graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School in 1970. She began her forty-five year nursing career in 1973, working in various hospitals and clinics throughout the Tidewater area before retiring from Norfolk Public Health as a nurse practitioner in 2018.

She was predeceased by her parents, Willie M. Smith and Emaline Smith Chauncey; stepfather, Melvin H. Chauncey; brother, Willie M. Smith, Jr.; sister-in-law, Gloria A. Smith; and niece, Heather S. Rhodes. She is survived by her son, Ayinde W. Mourning; daughter-in-law Stephanie M. Brinegar; niece, Letticia A. Smith; great-nephews Nathaniel R. Rhodes and Alexander W. Rhodes and lifelong friend Stephanie Y. Brown of the Washington, D.C. area.

She was a member of Beth Messiah Synagogue of Tidewater. Per her wishes, there will be no formal memorial services. Burial in Norfolk will be private.

May her memory be a blessing.