Bettye Smith Obituary

Bettye Smith a resident of King ' s Daughter and Son ' s Nursing Home went to be with the Lord Saturday , April 25 , 2 020 . Bettye was born in Potts Camp , MS , July 7 , 1 927, to Lee Andy Work and Clare Mae Morgan Work . She w as preceded in death by her parents , husband , Albert Allen ( A . A . ) Smith and son Terry Allen Smith . She is survived by her daughter Patricia Gumbee , granddaughters Aidan Long , ( Greg ) , Rachel Milburn ( Matt ), and grandson Nicholas Smith. Her immediate family who are deceased are a brother James Work and sister Corrie Mae Wood . She is survived by a half - sister Shirley Vance ( Ray ) , half - brothers Andy Wayne Work ( Cora ) , Kenny Work (Gail ), and Jerry Work . Betty spen t her career in the cosmetics department at what was then called Goldsmiths . Working with cosmetics came naturally to her and she was always " put together " a n d looking h er best . Bettye loved helping her customers fee l beautiful inside and out , and many people would ask only for her when they came to the store . Notably , she was one of the first female buyers for the department. Once she and A . A . retired , they moved to Moon Lake , MS . She con t inued to share her gift with others and worked part - time for several years at Powers Department Store in Clarksdale , MS . Betty and A . A . left Clarksdale and returned to Memphis when A . A . ' s health began to fail. Due to the current social distancing restrictions, a small gathering will be held at Forest Hill Cemetery on Whitten Road on Thursday , April 30 at 2:00 PM . A family member , Jack Kwok , will officiate .