Emma Lizetta Smith

Emma Lizetta Smith was born October 11, 1922, to Hilbert John and Daisy Izetta (Miller) Propheter in English, IN. She was the oldest of four daughters. The Propheters lived in numerous small towns in southwestern Indiana as Hilbert was a Methodist minister. Emma graduated from high school in Brazil, Indiana. She attended Indiana Central College where she was initiated into the Phi Omega Pi Sorority. She transferred to Indiana University and graduated in 1943 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. After graduation she enlisted in the U.S. Navy Waves. She trained and served at Oklahoma A&M College in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago, IL. Following the end of the Second World War she went to work for the Veterans Administration in Indianapolis, Indiana where she met Ray E. Smith. They subsequently married and had two sons, Ray E. Smith, Jr. and Gary John Smith. Although Emma left employment with the Veterans Administration to become a full time mother, Ray, Sr. continued with the VA, receiving promotions which meant moving to different VA offices. They lived in Plainfield, IN (a suburb of Indianapolis); Muskogee, OK; Washington, D.C; Denver, CO, where Emma returned to work with the Veterans Administration, back to Washington, and then back to Muskogee, where Ray Sr. eventually retired. After Ray Sr.s death, Emma moved to Stillwater to be near her son, Ray and his family.
Emma passed away on October 14, 2009 in Stillwater, OK. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray E. Smith and her son Gary John Smith. She is survived by her son Ray E. Smith, Jr., his wife Kay, granddaughter Shannon and grandson Brandon. She is also survived by her three sisters, Ruth and Bill Earle of Plainfield, IN, Clara and Lou Gehm of Knoxville, TN and Vivian Langwell of Johnson City, TN, a brother-in-law, Earl and Peg Smith of Altamonte Springs, FL, and nine nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be at Palmer Marler Funeral Home, 5106 N. Washington St., Stillwater, OK on Sunday, October 18, 2009 from 4:00 until 6:00 P.M. Services are scheduled for 10:00 A.M., Monday, October 19, 2009 at First Christian Church, 411 W. Matthews, Stillwater, OK under the direction of Palmer Marler Funeral Home. Entombment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery in Muskogee, OK alongside her husband, Ray, and son, Gary, following a brief cemetery service at 3:00 P.M., Monday, October 19, 2009. There will be a reception for family and friends at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2130 W. Okmulgee, Muskogee, OK following the cemetery service.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Stillwater, OK Endowment Fund or Oklahoma State University Foundation.
Condolences may be sent using our online guestbook at www.pmcfh.com