Pearl E. Smith

Pearl E. Smith, age 90, of Oakwood, GA passed away on Tuesday, October 31, 2017. She was preceded in death by her parents, Bryant and Lorene Jeffery; husbands, Lawrence Walburn, Jasper Dixon, Charles Smith, and Skip Turner; Mrs. Smith is survived by her daughter, Colleen Williams, Buford, GA; son, Jeffery Walburn, Senoia, GA; sister, Virginia Loveday, Ocala, FL; brother, Glenn Jeffery, Wayne, MI; four grandchildren, Lisa Brockmeyer, Morgan Williams, Julie Walburn, Jason Walburn; three great grandchildren, Lauren Brockmeyer, Rhys Williams, Rhiannon Williams. Pearl, or Gwen as she preferred to be called, was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 26, 1926. Her father, Bryan, worked at the Ford Motor Company and her mother, Lorene, was a homemaker. She has two surviving siblings, Virginia and Glenn. Growing up during the Depression, she learned how to be frugal and thrifty; something she practiced the rest of her life! During World War II, while attending high school, one of her favorite hobbies was roller skating.  She and her cousin, Earl, entered dance competitions that filled up her spare time in between dating the young service men going off to war and dancing to the “Big Band” music of that era. She loved to dance and did so up into her late 70’s!

She was married four times and often joked that only Elizabeth Taylor had more names! Her first husband was a Navy man, Lawrence Walburn, she met during the war and father of her two children, Colleen and Jeffery. After they divorced, she married Jasper Dixon. When Jasper passed away, she married Charles Smith until his death, then met and married Skip Turner for the remaining months of his life. She was the Care Giver to three of her husbands but spent the last years of her life being “cared for” in an Assisted Living Home, which was not easy for her, and she could often be found helping and caring for the other residents.

Gwen prided herself in being a “seamstress,” sewing suits and dresses for clients as well as one-of-a-kind formal gowns and a wedding dress for her daughter. She also enjoyed arts and crafts where she entered many shows displaying and selling her crafts. One of her specialties was the Sock Monkey Doll, which she made for nearly 30 years before it became popular, and which she not only sold but made for each of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She enjoyed caring for others and was always kind and helpful. She was a strong woman who taught her children how to persevere and not to take life too seriously!

Gwen loved life and lived it to the very end!  A celebration of life service visitation will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. in a Stateroom of Flanigan Funeral Home in Buford, GA. Interment is to be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to NE GA Hospice in memory of Pearl Smith.

To express condolences, please sign our online guest book at www.flaniganfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements By: Junior E. Flanigan of Flanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, Buford, GA (770) 932-1133.