Lula Smith

Lula Elizabeth Smith was born on August 4, 1940, in Steubenville, Ohio, to the late Alan Richard and Viola Mae (Barnette) Wilson. She passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 10:00 pm at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Lula lived her life by spreading her gifts of caring and service far and wide with an unheralded commitment to advocating for the dignity of all of God’s children. She served Jefferson County in Steubenville, Ohio, as the director of the CAPE prison rehabilitation program, family services director for the Community Action Center, juvenile advocate alongside Judge Daniel Spahn, and chairman of the Community Police Relations Council. Lula also served as an emergency services dispatcher for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and a health aide for Dixon nursing home in Wintersville, Ohio. Lula was a kind soul who also dedicated her free time volunteering at political campaigns, food drives, churches and more.

Lula was a member of the Second Baptist Church in Steubenville, Ohio, where she raised her three children. Before her transition, she was a member of Reverend William’s New Day Christian Community Church in Columbus, Ohio.

In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by two brothers Alan and Samuel Wilson; five sisters Marva (Berry), Antionette (Simmons), Marjorie (Estes), Charlotte (Bell), and Sylvia (Bridges) Wilson; and her first husband Lawrence David Smith Sr.

Lula leaves behind to mourn her passing, her children DeAngela, Lawrence David Jr. (Sheila), John Kennedy Smith and Lori King; her grandchildren Allen, Ashley, Jasmine, Isaiah and Elijah Smith; seven great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren, her sisters Viola and Cathrine (Bridges) Wilson; as well as a host of relatives, and friends.