Rita Wylene Smith

Our beloved wife and mother, Rita Wylene (Wilcox) Smith, passed away on April 5, 2024 in Longview, Texas. She was deeply loved and will be missed. Born July 27, 1935 to Guy Wesley and Para Henry Wilcox, she grew up in Hopkins County, alongside her sister Sue. She attended Winnsboro schools, receiving her Bachelor of Science Degree in 1956 and later a Masters in Library Science Degree in 1972 from ETSU - Commerce. Wylene met her husband, John Thomas Smith of Honey Grove, while attending college. As the story goes, she was sitting on a stool when he asked her out and had no idea when he picked her up for the Artema dance, she would be a foot shorter than his 6’1” frame. But, she sure was cute and after his parents told him she was a keeper, they were married. John was drafted into the army after graduation, and they set up house in Stuttgart, Germany. Their first child, Teresa Darlene was born in Aberdeen, MD and after military service they headed to Wichita Falls, Texas so John could join the State Department of Health. Their son, Alan Thomas, was born. Wylene started work as a school librarian. Jobs took them places: Wichita Falls, Laredo, Longview, Ft. Worth, Garland and then to Denver, Colorado where their son, Alan, died in 1981. With great sadness, they moved back to Dallas and in 1991 both retired to build a lakehouse at Lake Cherokee. Many happy memories took place there with their two grandchildren Jonathan and Jennifer. Wylene was very active, serving as regent and in all offices of the Longview DAR. She also served as Sunday School Teacher and church librarian at First United Methodist Church, where she was a member, and active in the Newnham Sunday School Class. While John served in lake management, she was also active in First Friends and the Fishing Club at Lake Cherokee. Wylene is survived by her husband, John Thomas Smith, her daughter, Teresa Beazley Davis and husband James; her grandaughter, Jennifer Beazley; her grandson, Jonathan Beazley, her nieces Karen Morgan and husband Marc, and Kathy Barrie and husband, Martin. Please join us as we celebrate the life of Rita Wylene Smith on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. in the Nicholson Chapel, located at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Longview, Texas.

Rita Wylene Smith

July 27, 1935 - April 5, 2024