Lema Nell Smith, A rose named Lema Nell Smith, bloomed in Alamo, Georgia on Dec. 5, 1938.
The eldest of eleven children from the union of Theo & Annie (Wood) Davis. She went home to be with the Lord on Jan. 19, 2025 in Albion, Michigan.
Nell came to Michigan in 1952 as her parents started a new life of prosperity up north.
Nell met the Love of her life Mack Smith, and on Oct. 7, 1957, they were married. To this union they had five boys and five girls.
Nell enjoyed cooking. She spent many years as the head cook at Albion Manor. Some of her favorite dishes were chicken and dumpling, spaghetti and meatball and pancakes the size of a plate. Nell loved gardening and canning. She enjoyed giving others homemade jams, canned fruit and vegetables.
Nell had a green thumb like no other. Her yard was filled with roses, hibiscus and many other flowers.
Nell was a member of Gethsemane Temple Church of God in Christ under the leadership of the late Superintendent James Lee. She served in the kitchen aide department, taught in the youth department and served on the Mothers Board.
Nell was an Intercessor Prayer Warrior and had a direct connection with God. She was not afraid to kick the devil out of her house. She held prayer meetings in her home where they would sing, praise God and speak in tongues as the spirit gave the utterance.
Nell would always end her conversation with her favorite scripture from Matthew 26:41: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”.
Nell was able to enjoy spending her latter years with her children. She moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2009 with her daughter Sherri and son in love Harry Bonner for eight years, and then moved to Houston, Texas in 2017 with her daughter Angela for five years. There she became a member of Mount Rose Church of God in Christ.
Nell then returned to Michigan in 2023 where she enjoyed her last two years with her daughter and sons.
Nell was a woman of God who never compromised in her faith. She was an inspiration to all those who she encountered with. She was a woman of integrity filled with Life, Hope, Laughter and Love.
She leaves to cherish her memory onto her children Angela Carter, Doran (Naomi) Smith, Jacqueline (Esper) Williams, Mark Smith and Joshua Smith; her siblings Bobbie Hamilton, Doris Jackson, and Walker Lee Davis. And a host of grandchildren, great and great great grandchildren and many other family members and friends.
Nell was preceded in death by her parents Theo and Annie Davis; her husband Mack Smith; her children Mack Sanders, Kim Garza, Christopher Lynn Smith, Yvonne Smith, and Sherri Bonner; her siblings Annie Pearl Parker, James Davis, Joe Davis, Melba Lois Cawthon, Leo Davis and Larry Davis; her grandchildren Shawtez Lane and Junaia Carter.
Services for Nell will be held on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at J. Kevin Tidd Funeral Home, 811 Finley Dr. in Albion. Family Hour will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the funeral service to follow at noon. Nell will be laid to rest at Albion Memory Gardens, in Albion.
A repass will be held at the Charles Snyder Building following services, 1300 Cooper St. Albion, MI 49224.
To leave online messages of condolence, please visit www.kevintiddfuneralhome.com.
