Myra Lee Smith

Myra Johnson Smith, 73, of Shiloh Ranch Road in Rainsville, died on July 12, 2025. Myra and her late husband David of 51 years, lived their entire lives in DeKalb County.

Myra attended Fyffe Elementary and Valley Head High School - graduating in 1970. She attended Northeast Community College for two years before finishing her Bachelor and Masters degrees at Jacksonville State University.

As a young girl, she loved anything and everything associated with the outdoors - whether it was her ponies, horses, dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, etc. That love of nature and the outdoors never left her, and helped inspire her profession. Up until the last year of her life, she had a half dozen "named" animals.

While attending Northeast, she met her future husband, David Earley Smith, who was driving a bus to help pay for his own education. Together they would have a son (Jeremy) and a daughter (Amanda). David's death in May 2024, compounded issues affecting Myra's mental and physical health thereafter.

During 35 years of teaching physical education, first at Ider and then at Fyffe, she taught thousands of young students with a remarkable degree of patience, love, and concern. She was responsible for organizing Christmas gifts to dozens of needy children through her role at school and with the help of Fyffe United Methodist Church, where she was a faithful member. She enjoyed supporting the Democratic Party because she believed in their values of hard work, empathy, and service to others. She displayed her generosity with beautification projects and volunteering at the Bulldog Pantry. She loved all things Disney. But her greatest joy came in following the adventures of her grandkids.

Myra is survived by her son Jeremy Smith (Amy) and their three children (Sara, Redick, and Ridge), and also by her daughter Amanda Renfroe (Brandon) and their four children (Breanna, Leah, Hadley, and Jackson). She is also survived by her brother, Terry Johnson, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There are a host of surviving in-laws and cousins, mostly living in and around DeKalb County.

Myra was preceded in death by her parents, Tommie and Lee Dell Whitmire Johnson, her maternal grandparents Clakie and Exa Ridgeway Whitmire, and her paternal grandparents Bethel and Kate May Johnson.

The visitation will be at W.T. Wilson Funeral Home on Sunday, July 13, from 5-8 p.m., with the funeral on Monday, July 14, at 11:00 am, at W.T. Wilson Chapel. She will be laid to rest at Corinth Cemetery in Fyffe alongside her husband and parents. Brandon Renfroe, Ray Smith, L.A. Smith will be officiating.

Survivors:

Son

Jeremy (Amy) Smith

Daughter

Amanda (Brandon) Renfroe

Grandchildren

Sara, Redick, Ridge Smith

Breanna, Leah, Hadley, Jackson Renfroe

Brother

Terry Johnson

Brothers-in-law

L.A. (Lesa) Smith, Ray (Robin) Smith, Tracy (Cheryll) Smith

Sister-in-law

Lauvoina Smith

Pall Bearers:

Redick Smith

Ridge Smith

Jackson Renfroe

Owen Wilborn

Rickey Ridgeway

Rodney Ridgeway

Tracy Smith

Robert Richey