Mrs. Maudeva Williams Smith was born March 17, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri to Sherman Williams and Martha Sanders. She was the second child of three children, Amos Williams and Sherman Williams, Jr., all who preceded her in death. Educated in the St. Louis Public Schools, she attended Dunbar Elementary School and graduated from Vashon High School in 1943. She joined Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church and was baptized in Christ in 1941. There she was a member of the Regina Nance Circle, the John E. Nance and Regina Nance Scholarship Committee, and she sang in the church choir until her declining health. Maudeva was united in holy matrimony to John Bert Smith, Jr., who also preceded her in death. Together they raised four daughters, who are all college graduates. She was employed as an elementary school secretary in the St. Louis Public Schools from which she retired.
Maudeva loved life and enjoyed all of it. Everyone knew her as a sharp dresser who wasn’t complete without her high heel shoes. Every item of clothing was matched and coordinated. She enjoyed listening to blues and jazz, playing cards with her friends, horse racing, going to the casino, playing tennis at Fairgrounds Park, traveling, and dancing. One of her favorite activities was dancing with the Crystallettes, a dance troupe of senior citizens from the Monsanto YMCA. They donned their top hats, tuxedo jackets, fishnet stockings, and tap shoes and put on amazing performances throughout the city. Being a St. Patrick’s Day baby, she celebrated every birthday with plenty of green (her favorite color), beer, corned beef and cabbage, and her family and friends. When her first grandchild was born, she declared she would never be called “Granny,” so she named herself “Nana,” a term of endearment that sticks to this day. Besides her grandchildren, her other love was her German Shepherd dogs. During her adult years she raised at least four of them. Her last German Shepherd and best friend was Sheba who departed November 2014.
Because of declining health, Maudeva was confined at home with assistance from her caregiver. She spent the last five months of her life at the NHC Healthcare Facility in Maryland Heights. She departed this life peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. She leaves behind to cherish her memory four daughters and sons-in-law, Patricia Smith Sanders (Melvin L.), Deborah Mitchell MacDonald (Kenneth J.), Pamela Smith Albright (Ruben A.), Daphne Smith Moore (Himi L. Kittner), three grandchildren, Darren A. Sanders, Marlon C. Sanders, and Mallori R. J. Albright, her caregiver Mrs. Burnetta Jones, and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.
Visitation for Maudeva Williams Smith is at 10am at Washington Tabernacle Missionary Church, 3200 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103, followed by the funeral at 11am. Interment is at Jefferson Barracks. A repast at the church will follow the burial. Austen Layne Mortuary is handling the arrangements.
