Dorothy Marie Smith

The memorial service for Dot Smith will be held at Brookwood Baptist Church on Overton Road on Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 3 p.m. The family will visit with friends at the church after the service.

Born August 5, 1929, Dot grew up in the tough, scrabble times of the Great Depression on a farm in Hanceville, Alabama. She was the youngest and last surviving child of her siblings. Her parents, Doc and Martha, who for some reason everyone called Nancy, demanded a lot of hard work from Dot and her four brothers and three sisters. They had cows, pigs, and chickens to tend to, along with cotton to pick, a vegetable garden, and a beautiful apple orchard. Life was not easy for the Bradford family in those days and as such, Dot's outlook, work ethic, and character were molded accordingly.

Dot's best friend growing up was Evelyn Waters and they were inseparable, including at Hanceville High School. A year after graduation, Evelyn invited Dot to go on a double date with a young Navy veteran of World War II who was recently back from his service. This blind date would include Ms. Waters and her boyfriend, Harold Ratliff. The prospective date had "fibbed" about his age so he could be accepted into the Navy at age 17. His brother had been killed earlier in the War in the Pacific. Dot accepted the invitation for the date and evidently it went quite well, as she would soon wed the brave lad, Gervus "Smitty" Smith. Further, the foursome would grow closer for decades to come as Evelyn and Harold married and they all remained dear, lifelong friends and travel companions.

After marrying in 1948, Dot and Gervus decided to move to the city and start a family after having experienced enough country living. They picked Woodland Avenue in the idyllic "West End" community of Birmingham, Alabama with its tree-lined streets, neighborhood sidewalks, and manicured lawns. It embodied the picture perfect living for a nation eager to put the World War behind them and enjoy a new way of life. In its "heyday" this area of town was close to church, schools, Five Points West shopping, the Fairgrounds, and convenient to thriving downtown Birmingham.

Dot and Gervus joined Berney Points Baptist Church (where Dot remained a member for 70 years) and established a network of wonderful friends through the active schedule of church life. She later adopted Brookwood Baptist Church in Birmingham when they began online services and she could join in from home.

In 1950, along came Dot and Gervus' first daughter, Debbie (McDaniel), followed several years later by Angie (Sanders). This budding young family relished their regular vacations to Lake Martin, Gatlinburg, and a beach front cinder block property in Panama City - all quintessential Americana destinations at that time.

Life was good in West End for Dot's family with Gervus climbing the ladder in the food industry and Dot working as office manager at Packaging Material and Supplies, where she worked for 25 years. She had a lasting impact on her employer who still refers to Dot as his second mom. As the neighborhood and their circumstances evolved, Dot and Gervus decided to move to the newer suburbs of the city- charming Bluff Park. Debbie had already gone to college and gotten married and Angie was starting high school.

They had a wonderful garden at their new home where Dot could highlight her well known cooking skills with fresh vegetables. At church and amongst those "claiming" to be sick, Dot's delicious pound cakes and banana pudding were in great demand. On Sunday nights at the Smith residence, you could always expect some hand cut potatoes soon to be deep fried. Somehow, Dot never gained weight, perhaps as a result of her dedicated walking regimen. She could walk four miles in one hour, a brisk pace.

Dot and Gervus loved to travel. Amazingly, they drove to all 48 continental states and especially loved visiting national parks and hiking while on the road. To spend that much time in a car with someone driving state to state is obviously true love. But Gervus also loved to drive. . . nobody could pack bags into a van or read a road map like he could!

Dot and Gervus were head over heels crazy about their grandchildren, Tara, Brooks, and Casey. From family gatherings, to "keeping the kids on date night," to attending sporting events and family vacations, being with the grandchildren were arguably their happiest times.

Losing Gervus in 2006, and Brooks in 2018, were two of the greatest pains of Dot's life. However, turning to Jesus daily for strength carried her through and she has long awaited the day she sees them again.

Dot is preceded in death by her parents, D.B. and Martha Bradford; her siblings, Morlar, Everett, Millard, Leldon, Myra, Mattie Ruth, and Evelyn; her husband, Gervus; and grandson, Brooks. She is survived by many loving friends, nieces, nephews, as well as her daughters, Debbie McDaniel (Barry) and Angie Sanders (Rance); granddaughters, Tara Stamper (Mike) and Casey Sandkuhl (Simeon); and great-grandchildren, Ava Stamper, Aidan Stamper, Hanna Sandkuhl, and Tyler Brooks Sandkuhl.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Dot's memory to the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes, www.AlabamaChild.org.