Winnifred Virginia Smith Baldwin

Winnifred Virginia Smith (Winnie) Baldwin

BERNICE, LA - A celebration of the life of Winnifred Virginia Smith Baldwin (Winnie) will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Bernice, Louisiana, on Thursday, August 16, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon with the Reverend Johnie Atkins presiding. A native of Monroe, Winnie was the older of two children of Johanna Irby Smith and Floyd Worthington Smith.

Winnie was graduated from Neville High School in Monroe and Louisiana Tech University in Ruston and pursued additional university work at LSU in Shreveport, where she participated in the International Studies program and developed on-going academic interests in the Spanish language and art history. Her unflagging commitment to literacy, culture and aesthetic improvement was absolute.

Her career in the US Postal Service included assignments in Monroe, Dubach, Mer Rouge, Collinston, and Bernice, the last four of which she served as postmaster. In 1982, she was honored as Postmaster of the Year by the Louisiana branch of the National League of Postmasters.

Prior to retirement, Winnie became fascinated with foreign cultures and traveled with her husband Jack to such destinations as Great Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Mexico. These journeys encouraged her in the development of a second career as a travel writer.

She and her husband co-authored numerous articles which appeared in such major newspapers as the Dallas Morning News, the Denver Post, and the San Antonio Express. Pelican Publishing Company published five of their books, Baldwin's Guide to the Inns of the Deep South, Baldwin's Guide to the Inns of Mississippi, Baldwin's Guide to the Inns of Louisiana, Weekend Getaways in Mississippi, and Baldwin's Guide to the Museums of Louisiana. Following Jack's death, Winnie continued to write numerous articles for the Farmerville Gazette and the Bernice Banner.

Organizations recognizing her contributions to life in north Louisiana included the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association, the Louisiana Bed and Breakfast Association, the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, the Officer's Spouses Club of Fort Polk, the Union Parish Chamber of Commerce, and the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council.

Survivors include three sons, Chris Baldwin of Dallas, Texas; Bob Baldwin and his wife Lynda and their children, West and Parker, of Bernice; John Baldwin and his wife Marilyn of Shreveport; and her brother James W. Smith and his family of Monroe.

At Winnie's request, her body has been donated to the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport.

The family wishes to extend its sincere thanks to Mrs. Lucille Thompson, who assisted Winnie in numerous ways through the years, and to the dedicated employees of Agape Hospice in Ruston, who assured that her final days were comfortable.

In lieu of flowers, family members request that donations be made to the Bernice United Methodist Church, the Henrietta Lee Endowment of the Louisiana Tech University Library in Ruston, the American Cancer Association, or any other charity of the donor's choosing.