Eva Smith

My Mother was born in Marion Junction,Alabama in Perry County.
She was the eighth child of eleven children. Her parents, John Perry and Lucy Finkley Perry welcomed her into the family December 26, 1919.
They grew up on sharecroppers farm with very little food and other proper needs, as many of the families of that era.
However, they survived.
Her mother passed away when she was five years old and there were three siblings younger, Lucyetta, Timothy and Luella, the baby was five months old.
Times grew tougher and she felt their lives would have been better if their mother was alive to care for them.
Those early years shaped how she lived her life going forward.
She felt ashamed her education ended after the sixth grade.
However, she had a burning desire and faith that God would lead her to a better life.
She, sister Willie Mae and brother John, moved to Bessemer, rented a house together and began their adult lives.
She told me many funny stories about them during that period of their lives.
She was present when Dorothy, Willie’s first daughter was born. They developed a strong bond that lasted.
During her last few years, Dorothy would call her every day to ask how she was doing. I really love and appreciate her love for my mom.
When I was born, my father joined the Army and served in WWII.
My mother moved closer to her dreams, to own a house. When he was discharged home, she had bought a house with enough land to plant a garden and raise some “chickens “.
She worked as a housekeeper for many years and they saved enough money to buy a new house. She was happy and worked very hard to furnish it and to have a savings account for a “rainy day.
She encouraged me to get a higher education, that she never had. She didn’t want me to experience the hunger, homeless, and the lack of money to get the things you need.
Those are the memories I have and will never leave me.
She had to struggle but she was stronger and fought fiercely to move forward.
During her last few years her brother Luther’s daughter Betty Crear, her niece came to live with her during her worse times with dementia, blindness and a leg infection. She took great care of her until the end.
I feel God sent my cousin Betty as a blessing for the hard work and tough times she endured through the years.
The gates of memories will never close.
I’ll love and miss you everyday, until we meet again.
Always and forever,
Your daughter, Gloriastine Williams
She leaves behind her only child,
Gloriastine Williams and Son in law, Willie Williams
A long list of Nephews, Nieces and their families.
She was 103 years old, the longest survivor of John and Lucy Perry’s children.