Rebecca H. Smith

Born in South Carolina in 1928, she was a true Southern lady to the core - but with a will and a mind of her own. She survived The Great Depression as well as an early childhood trauma when she lost her father, aunt, brother and sister in a terrible car wreck. These events shaped her life.

Married at 19 to a Naval officer, she was ready to travel the world with him. Instead, she ended up having to move cross country every two years, dragging 3 crying brats and various animals in the family station wagon. (Juli, the youngest, missed out on all that fun and frivolity!).At Navy bases, she made friends easily and Bridge Club was a high point of her life. After a permanent move to Nashville in 1964, she was secretary to the Registrar of the Graduate School at Vanderbilt until her retirement in 1991. Her husband, family and daughters were her main focus in life, and we never doubted that she loved us and supported us through all our crazy schemes, plans and love lives. Generous almost to a fault, she donated to every cause, frequently did volunteer work, took care of her own mother, all of us, and all of our friends, in the home she was so proud of. She finally got that trip to Europe where she fell in love with Germany, in particular. She was no stranger to a Lucky Strike or a Pall Mall, and enjoyed her cig and coffee to the end. Preceded in death by the most patient husband in the world, Lt. Cmdr David Kenneth Smith, her parents, and sister, Elma Louise Gayman. Survived by four daughters: Sheryl Powell, Cindy Evans, Angie Hall and Julianna Smith. Grandchildren: Heather Campbell Guerin, Audrey Campbell Griffin and Sara Hall. She also had 3 great-grandchildren. We send our most heartfelt thanks to her beautiful and awesome caregivers during the last three years. None of us, including Mom, could have survived without them.

Funeral service will be 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 7, 2016 at Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home. Visitation with the family will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday prior to the service at Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home. A Graveside service will be held 1 p.m. Friday at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens.