Rilla Smith

Rilla Lee Smith, daughter of the late W. F. "Bill" and Mary Fletcher Kiser Hicks, was born in Puxico, Missouri on August 19, 1923, and passed away at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri on July 13, 2010, at the age of 86 years, 10 months and 24 days. She had lived in Puxico, Missouri all her life. She had worked at the Puxico Public Schools as a Teachers Aid for several years and was a member of the Puxico United Methodist Church for 70 years. She had taught Sunday School for 50 years, was a member of the Puxico VFW Ladies Auxiliary and the WSCS at the church. She enjoyed reading, crocheting and sewing. On September 14, 1941, she was married to Halen Sanford Smith in Bloomfield, Missouri. Surviving are her husband, Halen Sanford Smith of Puxico, Missouri; two sons and spouses, Sanford "Sandy" & Delitha Smith of Puxico, Missouri, Roger & Brenda Smith of Cape Girardeau, Missouri; one daughter and spouse, Marilyn & Sonny Newsom of Puxico, Missouri; five grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and one great great grandchild. Other relatives and friends survive. She was preceded in death by two brothers, L. T. Hicks & Dorrel Hicks and one niece, Shirley Moss. Visitation will be Thursday, July 15, 2010, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Puxico, Missouri. Services will be held Friday, July 16, 2010, at 10:30 AM in the Watkins & Sons Chapel in Puxico with the Rev. Dennis Doublin of Puxico, Missouri officiating. Interment will be in the Puxico Cemetery in Puxico, Missouri with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Puxico in charge of arrangements.