Zoe C. Smith

Mrs. Zoe C. Smith, 90, of Alpharetta, Georgia, passed away on Friday, February 13, 2026. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 11:30am, at Riverside Cemetery, with Reverend Joe McDaniel officiating.

Zoe was born on August 10, 1935, in Macon, Georgia, to the late Clifford and Pauline McLendon Croom.

Zoe was a former member of Mable White Baptist Church in Macon, where she met her husband of 64 years, Sanford Owen Smith. She and her husband raised their three sons in Richmond, Virginia. Zoe earned her bachelor’s degree at Mercer University in Macon and then earned a Master of Education Degree at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. She put these degrees to good use in the Henrico County School System, primarily as a second-grade teacher at the Pinchbeck Elementary School in Henrico, VA. After three plus decades of teaching in Richmond, she retired from the Henrico County School System in the year 2000 and moved with her husband to Alpharetta, Georgia to be closer to family.

Zoe loved to cook. Her southern style cuisine, learned from her mother and father, remains a favorite memory of her three sons and her Thanksgiving and Christmas meals were always the stuff of legend. It is a wonder that the table in her dining room in Richmond did not collapse under the weight of the food she lovingly prepared!

Zoe is survived by her children; Mark Alan Smith (Marianna) of Portland, Oregon, Jeffrey Stephen Smith (Ann Marie) of Celebration, Florida, and Gregory James Smith (Fran) of Reno, Nevada; four grandchildren (Daniel, Lydia, Stephanie, and Samantha) and one great grandchild (Hilda).

Zoe was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Sanford Smith; and her sister, Mary DeYoung.

“Lay down your sweet and weary head. Night is falling, you have come to journey’s end. Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before. They are calling from across the distant shore.” Into the West, Annie Lenox.

Love you, Mom.

Please visit www.hartsmort.com to express your condolences.

Hart’s Mortuary, 765 Cherry Street, Macon, Georgia 31201, has charge of the arrangements.