Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BY ROZELLA HARDIN
Editorial Director
rozella.hardin@elizabethton.com
If you were looking for an example of a virtuous woman as described in Proverbs 31, Vera Hardin Smith could very well be that woman. She worked diligently to take care of her family and their home. She was resourceful, generous, talented, a woman of integrity, and was a blessing to those around her.
Vera went to her heavenly abode January 20 at Ivy Hall Nursing Home, where she had been a resident for the past several months. She was the daughter of the late Auda and Viola Peters Hardin, and the widow of Charles Mack Smith.
Her father was a member of the Hardin Brothers Quartet, and she often filled in for her uncle Gib at funerals when he had to work, and sang in the choir at New Liberty Free Will Baptist Church. She encouraged her daughters, Vickie and Gina, to take piano lessons and both are musicians at their local churches.
“Momma always had a friendly smile which radiated kindness and love. She received a lot of compliments on her smile while a resident at Ivy Hall,” said Vickie.
In addition to being a wife and mother, Vera worked at the Tennessee Department of Human Services, mostly in the food stamp division. In earlier years, she worked at the Carter County Courthouse.
“Her idea of home-cooked food was Bojangles and Burger King,” said Vickie with a chuckle. “But she was active in many other ways. She and my dad babysit their grandchildren and were their chauffeurs, especially during their retirement years. They would take them to school, pick them up, and take them anywhere else they needed to go. They were the best when it came to grandparents. I don’t know what Gina and I would have done without them.”
Vickie said her mother was very active in her church. “She loved the Lord. Momma was very active in her Sunday School class, and the Senior Group. At the time of her death, Vera was the longest living member of New Liberty Free Will, and had served as Sunday School secretary for 43 years. She was there every day for those who needed her,” her daughter shared.
In addition to her church work, both Vera and her husband, Mack, were active in the Blevins Cemetery Association.
Vera was a simple person, and it didn’t take much to make her happy. She liked to watch the old black and white episodes of the Andy Griffith Show, Fox News, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols, and the Atlanta Braves.
Vickie shared that her Mom and Dad traveled some. “They went to California a few times and enjoyed some church trips, but for the most part, they enjoyed staying on Stoney Creek. Mom otten said ‘there was no better place than Stoney Creek.’”
In addition to her daughters and their spouses, Kenny Greer and Randy Johnson, Vera’s grandchildren were Mandy Greer, Julie Greer, Megan Harsh, Nathie Wright, and Andy Johnson. She also had 10 great-grandchildren.
Vera enjoyed making memories with her family and sharing special occasions with them. One of her favorite Bible verses was Psalms 30:5 – “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
Vera Smith was laid to rest Jan. 24 at the Blevins Cemetery, and you can bet that while there were tears on earth at her passing, all of Heaven rejoiced at her homegoing. She was quite a lady!