Jo Anne Smith

On Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012, with family by her side, the Lord called a loved one home. Jo Anne Smith, 70, was born July 19, 1942, in Rockwood.
She graduated from Rockwood High School (1960) and attended the University of Tennessee, where she met Othniel Tyrus "O.T." Smith Jr. She and O.T. married June 9, 1962, and together they had three children: Lenice Arlene Folse, Othniel Tyrus Smith III and Hazel Melinda Winston. She spent her life volunteering her time to programs such as Meals on Wheels, youth/women's groups at Westside Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Ga., and Asbury Chapel United Methodist Church in Rockwood and as a troop leader for the Girl Scouts of America. She worked for the Houston County Board of Education as a library clerk at Northside Junior High School for 12 years (1987-99). She also spent a great deal of her time helping those in need, being with her mother, children and grandchildren, traveling and working in her yard with her husband.
She leaves behind her mother, Lenice Watts; her husband of 50 years, O.T. Smith; her children, Arlene (Tracy) Folse, Tyrus Smith III and Hazel (Jeff) Winston; seven grandchildren, Jed (28) and Matt (26) Merrell, Tyrus IV (19) and Rachel (16) Smith, and Zach (19), Courtney (16) and Keeley (16) Winston; a brother, James Watts and sister-in-law Vickie Watts; and a brother- and sister-in-law, Kyle and Gaynell Smith; nephews and niece, Lowell Watts, Daniel Smith and Amy Smith Ivan; cousins, Leo Stinnett, Debbie Stinnett Daniels, Lori Stinnett Wright, Betty Stinnett Thomas, Clint "Sonny" and Patti Stinnett, Pete and Louise Stinnett.
She was preceded in death by her father, James Thomas Watts.
Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in the chapel of Evans Mortuary, Rockwood, with Pastors Knox Wimberley and Paul Johnston officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery. Afterward, a celebration of life will follow lunch at Asbury United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in Evans Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, the family would like for donations to be made in honor of Jo Anne Smith to either Thompson Cancer Survival Center (TCSC) Foundation, Attention: Thompson Cares, 1915 White Ave., Knoxville, TN 37916; or Asbury Chapel United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 822, Rockwood, TN 37854. An online register is available at www.evansmortuary.biz.