Lorace Mae Coe

Lorace Mae (Smith) Coe, 104, of Spotsylvania, VA, passed away on Friday, November 21, 2025, peacefully at home. Born on November 14, 1921, in Spotsylvania, Lorace was the 5th of 11 children of the late Oswald L. Smith, Sr. and Mary "Maggie" Chewning Smith. She was the widow of Bernard Lee Coe Jr.

She was an active member of Zoan Baptist Church since 1949, where she was the first teacher of the 3-year-old class and worked in the church nursery for 25 years. She was a member of the Tuesday Bible Study, Sunday Prayer Time, Sunday School, and a founding member of the Fannie Johnson Mission Circle. She retired after being a American Red Cross Volunteer at Mary Washington Hospital for over 30 years, and an active member of the Spotsylvania Senior Citizens Group.

While Lorace attended Chancellor High School, she graduated in 1941 as part of the first graduating class of Spotsylvania High School. She loved gardening, walking, reading, word-find puzzles, and playing Skip-Bo.

She is survived by her children, Carolyn Woodard (James), Edward Coe (Cheryl), and Rebecca Hedge (Fred Sr.); grandchildren, Judy O'Dell (Chris), Jamie Woodard (Amy), Bill Hedge (Carly), Misty Smith (Darren), Aaron Coe (Carrie), and Amber Smith (Justin); 12 great-grandchildren; sister, Arnell Smith Steckler; and many nieces and nephews across multiple generations.

In addition to her husband, Lorace was preceded in death by her siblings, Garnett Smith, Carroll Smith, Marvin Smith, Mary Catlett, Marian Smith, Dorothy Grow, Alice Grow, Annie Bell Grow, and Oswald Smith Jr.

A visitation followed by a service and fellowship will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 29, 2025, at Zoan Baptist Church. Please wear red in her memory. Pallbearers will be Darren Smith, Justin Smith, Chris O'Dell, Ben Jones, Chris Shelton, and Mike Smith. Honorary pallbearers will be R. Earl Catlett, Roger Catlett, Allan Catlett, James Grow, James Snelson, and Gueron Cowan.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Zoan Baptist Church Cemetery Association.