Mrs. Johnnie Marie Eaton Smith, age 96, of Gainesville passed away on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at her residence.
Johnnie was born on September 7, 1913 in Covington, Hill County, Texas. She was the 5th of 9 children of William Arthur Eaton and Minnie Adeline Huffman Eaton. As a teenager, during the Depression and Dust Bowl era, her family moved to a farm near Tahoka, Texas, and along with the other children worked on the farm and in the fields of her father's T-Bar ranch picking cotton and other crops.
In the early 1940s Johnnie studied nursing at the nursing school in Lubbock, Texas and began her career at West Texas Hospital in Lubbock. When she finished her studies, she joined her brothers in San Diego, California and became the nurse for the Rohr Aircraft factory. There she met her lifelong partner, Donald Logsdon Smith, an aviator, and they married in San Diego on June 30, 1944. After the war was over, Johnnie and Smitty moved to New Mexico to be near family, first to Albuquerque, then to Santa Fe where Johnnie became the nurse for the Santa Fe Indian School. They found a beautiful ranch in the Jemez Mountains and Johnnie took the job of Sandoval County Health Nurse, living in Cuba, NM, while Smitty lived his ranching dream. During this time Johnnie also pursued various arts and crafts, including pottery making, decoupage, crocheting, and quilt making. She won many prizes for her works in local shows and fairs.
Johnnie and Smitty later moved to Florida where her sister Dannie lived and where Johnnie continued her nursing career and Smitty opened an antique shop. They retired and moved to Mountain View, Arkansas where Smitty once again had his place in the country. They moved finally to Gainesville, Georgia to be close to her twin sisters, Donnie Lue and Dannie Sue, and her niece, Paula Johnson, a nurse in Gainesville. Johnnie continued to volunteer at the hospital until she was in her early 90s. When her beloved Smitty died in 1996, and six months later her sister Donnie Lue passed, she entered a retirement facility. Her spirit influenced all in her family-she always had remarkable energy, a wonderful philosophy, creativity, faith, and a great compassion for everyone.
While Johnnie and Smitty never had children, they helped nurture and raise a number of her nieces and nephews. She was the "glue" that helped keep the Eaton family close for so many years. Her faith was very important to her and she remained active in her church, the First United Methodist Church in Gainesville, traveling with the Gadabouts, and in Sunday School.
Johnnie is the last of her immediate family, having outlived everyone by at least six years. She was preceded in death by her husband Donald L. Smith, brothers Buster, Virgil, and Bert Eaton, and sisters Irene Roberts, Juanita Dear, Donnie Lue Barber, and Dannie Sue Nalley.
She is survived by a number of nieces and nephews, Paula & Lee Johnson, Pamela Williams, Elizabeth Dear & Paul Zarzyski, David Dear, John & Angel Dear, Bill & Lisa Nalley, Missy Farrell & David Sierrakowski, LaWanda Smith, and Marietta Eaton.
Memorial services are scheduled for Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 2:30 pm in the chapel of First United Methodist Church. Reverend Hugh Cauthen will officiate.
Memorial Park Funeral Home, 2030 Memorial Park Road, Gainesville, GA 30504 is in charge of arrangements.
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www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.
