Eleanora E. Smith

ELEANORA ESTHER HOWELL was born through the union of Horace James Howell and Agnes Ambush in Washington, D.C. on March 7, 1923. She was the youngest of eight children and affectionately known to them as “Tootsie.” According to Eleanora’s sisters, her parents doted on her, especially their mother, Agnes. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., she acquired her education and spent her early years there. However, after losing both parents by the age of fourteen, Eleanora followed her eldest sister, Dorothy Scruggs to Baltimore, Maryland. While in Maryland, she held a number of domestic positions. Later, Eleanora met Earl Randolph Smith Sr. and married him on October 6, 1946. Eleanora and Earl settled in Baltimore, Maryland. From this union, Earl and Eleanora had children. She later transitioned to a career as a silk presser and then moved into the health care field as a nursing assistant, a profession from which she retired in 1985. Eleanora and Earl were married for twenty-four years until his death in 1970. In the early 1950s, Eleanora began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. She embraced the teachings of the Bible wholeheartedly, and by June of 1952, was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She loved Jehovah and spent the rest of her life advocating the Kingdom of God as mankind’s only hope to end sickness, pain and death. Eleanora did so for the last sixty years of her life. She was known in the congregation as a kind and no nonsense person. She was faithful and regular at the meetings until her health limited her mobility and ability to attend meetings in person. Eleanora was a spirited and independent woman who loved life, travel with her late sisters Dorothy and Gertrude, close girlfriends and children. She was spry and very active well into her 80s. She was fondly called “Granny” by her grandchildren. At the age of ninety, Eleanora Esther Smith passed away suddenly at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday, August 15, 2013. Eleanor a was the last surviving member of the Howell family. All seven of her siblings preceded her in death. However, Eleanora had a large family and is survived by five children: Dorothy Gonsalves (husband Edward deceased), Earl Smith Jr. (wife Helen), Deborah Moore (husband Cedric), Wanda McIntosh (husband Rickey) and Darrell Smith (wife Arnita). Eleanora also had a son, Michael Smith, who preceded her in death in 1993. She is also survived by: eighteen grandchildren, Tonya Mitchell (husband Teforie), Edward Gonsalves Jr. (wife Kathleen), Derrick Gonsalves (wife Tuyet), Gina Gonsalves (husband Ron Graham), Dia Gonsalves, Christa Gonsalves, Rosa Smith, Karen Tenkorang (husband Nana), Earl Smith III, Cedric Moore Jr. (wife Tawanda), Eric Moore (wife Vanessa), Keith Ford (wife Christy), Michael Smith, Rickey McIntosh Jr., Waneka McIntosh, Darrell Smith Jr. (wife Samone), Ian Smith (wife Leah) and Kandace Kent (husband Jason); along with a host of nieces and nephews.

Tributes

Eleanora E. Smith

March 7, 1923 - August 15, 2013