Nina Smith Hamrick

Nina was born in 1937 at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, the only child of Nina Taylor Smith and Monroe Daniel Smith. She passed away on June 13, 2023, at Lambeth House, from Alzheimer’s Disease. Nina grew up in Picayune and Carriere, Mississippi, spending summers in New Orleans with her aunt, Mildred Seaman, and in Meridian, Mississippi, with another aunt, Mattie Person. While in Meridian, she met her future husband, Joseph Thomas Hamrick (Tom). They married in 1954 and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where Tom attended medical school at the University of Tennessee. After medical school, they lived alternately in New Orleans and Hazlehurst, Mississippi, before settling permanently in New Orleans, when Tom joined the faculty of Tulane Medical School and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1967. Nina was a devoted wife, mother, daughter and niece, dedicating her life to the nurturing of her family and loved ones. She also loved homemaking, gardening and visiting with neighbors while working in her yard. She always had time to engage in conversation and exchange pleasantries with acquaintances and strangers alike. Her inviting, easy-going manner and soft Southern drawl were distinctive features of her charm. Nina and Tom traveled the world, with journeys throughout Great Britain, Europe, Africa, Israel, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Greenland. Nina was a member of the Picayune Chapter of the DAR. She was always game for a spirited discussion of politics, but perhaps some of her happiest times were spent dining out on Friday evenings with her family. Nina was predeceased by her parents and her beloved husband of 54 years. She is survived by her children, Janet H. Aschaffenburg and her husband, Honoré, Joseph Thomas Hamrick, Jr. and his wife, Aby, and Mark Daniel Hamrick, as well as her grandchildren, Aby Dixon Hamrick, Elizabeth Macon Hamrick and Joseph Thomas Hamrick, III. A private burial was held at Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian, Mississippi, where she was laid to rest beside Tom. The family would like to thank the staff and residents of St. Anna’s at Lambeth House for the love and care they showed Nina during the last years of her life.