Obituaries

Dessa Oleta "Lee" Smith

Photo of Dessa Oleta "Lee" Smith
Dessa Oleta "Lee" Smith, age 86, passed away July 19, 2017 at her home in Fayetteville. She was born May 26, 1931 in Ovid, Colo., to Calvin Leroy and Dortha Susan (Goldman) Williams. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 50 years, Roy Charles Smith; two brothers, Ivan Calvin Williams and Harold Allen Williams; and two sisters, Lillie Opal Page and Mary Lou Shea. She was a 1949 graduate of Hartford High School, attended Westark Community College, and studied art at the University of Arkansas. She and Roy were married Sept. 13, 1951. They moved from Booneville to Fayetteville in 1968 when he became Assistant Principal of the Fayetteville High School West Campus. She served as state president of the National League of American Pen Women, and was a charter member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, a signature member of the American Pastel Society, and a founding member of Artists of Northwest Arkansas. Her paintings were exhibited in many venues including the US Capitol and New York's Lincoln Center. She was a lifelong gardening enthusiast, visited nearly all of the national parks, and belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is survived by her brother Billy George Williams and wife Cecilia of Hackett; her daughter, Denise Anne Rice and husband Gary of Brighton, Michigan; son Charles Edward Smith and wife Jennifer of Little Rock; and son James William Smith and wife Mona Mitchell of Madison, Ala.; eight grandchildren, Corey, Casey and Stephen Rice, Kevin and David Smith, and Thera, Corwin and Forrest McAvoy; great-granddaughters Elena and Genevieve Rice, and great-grandsons Dorian and Evan McAvoy. The family would like to thank the staff at the Willard Walker Hospice Home for their care. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at Nelson-Berna Funeral Home in Fayetteville. Interment to follow at Fairview Memorial Gardens in Fayetteville. To place an online tribute visit www.nelsonberna.com.

Published July 23, 2017

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