MEMORIAL CEMETERY
ANDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

Born:  4 December 1934 Died:  7 April 2006 - Palestine, Anderson, Texas Father:  Claude W. Smith, Sr. Mother:  Osey Mae James Spouse:  Melba O'Brien - 11 June 1957

Services for Claude W. Smith, 71, of Houston and formerly of Palestine, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at East Park Missionary Baptist Church, 8602 Tidwell St., with the Rev. Robert Purvey officiating.  Burial will follow at 3:30 p.m. at Memorial Cemetery in Palestine under the direction of Frazier=Mitchell Funeral Home of Houston. Mr. Smith died Friday in a Houston hospital. Visitation will be held prior to the services from 9 to 10:45 a.m. at the church.

On Friday, April 7, 2006, Mr. Claude W. Smith went home to be with the Lord.  He was a kind and loving person, and was always willing to give a helping hand and loving smile to everyone he met. Claude was born on December 4, 1934 to the parents of Claude W. Smith, Sr. and Osey Mae James Smith.  He accepted Christ at an early age uniting with Grace Temple Church in Palestine, Texas.  He later joined Anderson Chapel Baptist Church, in Livingston, Texas.  He was a member of Lakewood Church in Houston, serving in the voluntary Help Ministry as an Usher. Claude united in holy matrimony, with Melba O'Brien on June 11, 1957.  He was the father of one daughter, Neibra who resides in Humble, Texas with her husband and 2 children. He will be greatly missed by his family. He attended Palestine public schools and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1953.  He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Prairie View A&M University.  Claude began his career as a Science teacher at Dunbar High School in Livingston, Texas.  He was employed in the Aldine Independent School District in 1963 and worked as a High School Teacher, Counselor and Assistant Principal until his 1993 retirement.  After retirement, he worked as a part-time professor at Prairie View A&M University. His parents, Claude and Osey Mae Smith, his two sisters, Juanita Steward and Osey Nell Nolley, Grandmother Mary Emma James, and nephew Derrick Nolley preceded him in death.  He leaves to cherish precious memories of his life with his wife, Melba O'Brien Smith; daughter Neibra Smith Stewart; son-in-law Bobby Stewart; two grandchildren Allison Stewart and Robert Stewart; mother-in-law Ora O'Brien; three brother-in-laws Robert W. Nolley, Julius Steard, Sr. and Lencie O'Brien; three sister-in-laws Janice Henry,Deborah Curry and Pamela Wesley.  Nieces:  Requita Nolley and Nannette Steward; nephews:  Craig Nolley, Waverly Nolley, Jason Nolley, Marcellous Nolley, and Julius steward, Jr. and a host of cousins, other relativeds, friends and the Lakewood Church Family.

The pictures and images used on the Memorial Cemetery pages were
furnished by the Anderson County Historical Commission and the pages
were compiled by Beverly Bailey Odom and Scott Fitzgerald.

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Copyright 2005 -
East Texas Genealogical Society and the Individual Contributors