Obituary of Ona Burns Smith

Ona Burns Smith

Ona Burns Smith, 62, “Best All Around” superlative of the 1964 class of Grady High School in Atlanta, leaves a legacy of a life lived in service. The Atlanta native dedicated her life to promoting understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity and equal access to educational services through quiet activism in the field of homeschooling. A  National Merit Finalist, Stetson University honor graduate, beauty queen and  a beautiful steel magnolia who chose the humble path of servant all the way into eternity. Our culture would collapse without women such as Ona. Her radiant, “wily-coyote” approach to life has propped up the high profile activities of those around her. During her life, she was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who pioneered the concept of homeschooling in Georgia as she sought an appropriate education for each of her four children. With no existing homeschool curriculum, Ona developed a “lived curriculum” that incorporated global learning experiences through extensive national and international travel. History was brought to life by travels to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. Economics and cultural awareness were experienced through visits to many of the beautiful cities of Europe as well as several third world countries. Ona always insisted that her children embrace these diverse cultural experiences by incorporating hands-on service activities as a part of their travels. In the community, Ona was a Sunday School Teacher, deacon’s wife and a recipient of Yard of the Month from the Avondale Estates Garden Club. Ona and Gary participated in several international mission trips, especially to Latin America.   Ona was a loving wife, who supported her husband of 38 years, as he took a leap of faith to leave his lucrative law practice to follow their calling to pastor churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. Like all dedicated servants, Ona’s constant devotion, support, and love endured to the end when she lost her courageous battle with breast cancer on May 1, 2009. She is survived by her husband, Gary W. Smith; her children, Jessica and Andy Norman, Christopher R. and Amanda Smith, Cicely and Pablo Quintana, and Charles G. and Julie Smith; her sisters, Ellen and Michael Hurst, Jacqueline and Gordon Scullion, and ten grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 3:00 PM at Avondale Estates First Baptist Church, 47 Covington Road, Avondale Estates, GA 30002. The family will receive family and friends for visitation on Saturday, May 2 from 4 to 9 p.m. at A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home, 2773 North Decatur Rd and on Sunday, May 3, from 2:00 to 2:45 p.m. at Avondale Estates First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Southwest Christian Care 7225 Lester Road, Union City, GA 30291. A. S. Turner & Sons

Service Schedule for Ona Smith

Remembering
Ona Burns Smith
Visitation
Date	Time
May 2, 2009	4:00 – 9:00 PM
Visitation Location
A. S. Turner and Sons
Service
Date	Time
May 3, 2009	3:00 PM
Service Location
Avondale First Baptist Church

Our Friend Ona is with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Following is a note from the family that Ona has died and her battle on earth is done. She has won the victory. Plans are being made for the funeral services and I will update those here as I receive them. I am sharing a few more pictures and mementos. Our hearts are broken but we are comforted knowing that we will be with Ona again and it will only be a little while.

Ronnie

Ronnie 

Friday, May 1, 2009 9:45 AM, EDT

Just wanted to let you know that Mom passed away at 7:47 this morning,  “she flew away”.   The head nurse and another nurse say that they have never seen such a more pleased and smiling face.  Dad says she must have immediately seen Jesus.

 

 

 

Update on our friend Ona

From the family:

Thursday, April 30, 2009 8:45 PM, EDT

Mom is being watched hour by hour for changes by the wonderful nursing staff at the hospice.  We appreciate all of your prayers and comforting words you have left our family in the guestbook.  Our family is at peace during this time and resting in His assurance that He is waiting on Mom to come into his arms.

Update on Gary and Ona April 28th

If you read the blog then you know Gary and Ona, our friends in Atlanta. As you know Ona is in the last stages of cancer and has been moved to a Hospice Home in the Atlanta Area. She and Gary are able to be together, Gary has a bed in the room with Ona, the family is also able to be by their side as much as possible. All of the children are there walking with Gary and Ona through this difficult time in their lives. The update today from Jessica is as follows:

“Moms heart is, as many of you know, strong from years of running. She is in a “coma-like” state. One nurse told Dad last night that if nothing changes she could make it through the weekend. She is very peaceful. We continue to appreciate your prayers, they are definitely felt by our family.”

I am including a previous blog post here because so many of you have asked about Gary and Ona and so many have read and prayed for friends of ours. You are a true family that hurts and feels our pain even when you don’t know Gary and Ona.

Ronnie

 

 

 

John 12:24 (The Message)

 

 ^24-25“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

Death truly is the Engine to Life

 

 

 

We had an awesome time in Atlanta visiting with our good friends Gary and Ona Smith. Wow, we packed a lot in but the point of the trip was to be with Gary, Ona, the extended family and just fellowship and enjoy each others company. As you know if you read the blog or know me through church, Ona has cancer and has been battling for several years to fight this disease.

When we arrived in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon and got settled in, Gary reminded me that the ING Marathon was this weekend and that Ona and he had ran the Half Marathon in 2008, did I want to run this weekend? Well of course with my love of running it was tempting but I have not been training so I didn’t know.

To make a long story short, we went to the Expo at the Georgia Dome on Friday and got registered and I was in. This is when the praying and moaning started. Moaning that I was out of shape and hadn’t been training and praying that I could at least finish in 3 hours. I knew I could finish in 3 hours, I can walk that fast.

Gary and Ona live near Piedmont Park so I went for a 3 mile run/walk/drag on Thursday evening in the park. I was very sore on Friday because  I haven’t been training. This was just another thing for me to moan about, knowing that I have 13. 1 to do early Sunday morning. We were able to be with Gary and Ona’s two daughter’s and their oldest son during the weekend as well as their children and families and you will see some of the pictures of them here.

They have/had this great “Little Jumping Bean” place for children just around the block from Gary and Ona’s and we spent some time there letting Samuel and the grand-kids jump in these big blow up things. It is great, the kids can fall and still not get hurt. I think each one of them were stepped on several times but they didn’t get hurt and it was a lot of fun for the little ones. I say had because the place was closing down this weekend so we won’t have the convenience of it being so close by when we visit.

As Gary and I had the kids away jumping there was time for Ona and Misty as well as Jessica and Misty to have some good conversation and not have to run the kids around. With Samuel the running was constant because he wanted to climb the stairs. Gary, Justin, Samuel and I did the grocery shopping for our meals and we ate lots of “Skinny Cows” over the weekend. I didn’t know those things existed but I will be looking for them in Cana Virginia.

It is funny and amazing at the same time, Gary, Justin and I went to the Ga. Dome to register for the race and after looking for a parking spot where we didn’t have to pay $10 we pulled up to ask someone where a certain gate was and they directed us through the service entrance of the Dome and we drove right up to the door and didn’t pay any fees at all. While we were there Gary and I each bought a pair of running shoes and I left my debit card at the booth. Needless to say when we went to the grocery store I discovered the missing card and we had to go back to the Dome and believe it or not we received permission to go back through the service entrance to pick up the card. They did check us out this time  to make sure were weren’t up to anything bad.

 On Saturday evening we were blessed to prepare and have dinner with Chris, Amanda and Cole. Chris is Gary’s oldest son, we enjoyed preparing the meal together and then eating steak together. Ona is not allowed to have very much steak but she did get to enjoy it on Saturday night with the rest of us.

There are pictures  here of the home that Gary and Ona live in, it is where Gary grew up with his mom, dad and siblings. Ona grew up on a street close by and they have been together for 41 years. When they found out that Ona had cancer they decided it was time to fix the home place up and enjoy it. What a beautiful place, inside and out. It is more like a work of art, more than just a house. The most awesome thing is that anywhere Gary and Ona live it is a place where everyone is welcome. For the past 10 years I have been in their home many times and I have always been made to feel like it was my home away from home.

This trip was not unlike the many others that I have enjoyed at Gary and Ona’s. I have been many times before I was married and several times since Misty and I were married, along with Samuel, Kyle and at times other friends have been with us. Gary and Ona love to be active, we ran in the Atlanta Peach Tree Road Race together in 2007. In July 2008 Ona was not able to run the 6.2 miles and I ran in Ona’s place along with Gary. We have often walked around Stone Mountain Park together as well as taking walks with Skippy the family dog in Piedmont Park. We all also like to eat so we have enjoyed places like the Speghatti Factory in Atlanta, the famous Varsity Restaurant and of course we have been to Krispy Kreme many times.

There are so many great memories and this trip was one of the best in it’s own way. Ona is not able to get out and run with us anymore, we ate all our meals together at home because Ona is not able to run around town anymore but the thing we did was just  enjoy each others company. Gary and Ona have taught us so much and we will be forever grateful for their friendship.

Ona’s time on this earth is beginning to come to a close but we will never say goodbye. We will never say goodbye because Ona will leave this body and immediately be with Jesus and one day and it will not be that long for any of us, we will be with Jesus and Ona again.

When a loved one leaves us in this world there is an emptiness, a void that no one can fill. However, as in this world, when a person leaves to go on a journey, as they go out of sight, we say, there they go!

We don’t question that their departure means they will be arriving at some other place in a short time. When they arrive at that other place they say, here they come! Likewise when someone we love who knows Jesus as Lord and Savior leaves this world, we say they have departed! But, in heaven, they say, here they come! They are absent from these frail bodies and they are absent from us but they are present with Our Lord.

Death causes us loss and grief to be sure but death is overrated for the Christian. Death is not our enemy but our friend. Death is the gateway that leads to Eternal Life. Death is the key that opens the gate and relieves us from this pain and suffering, this groaning to be with Our Creator. Death is the gateway to our being in the actual Eternal Presence of our Living Savior. Death is the gate into a land where there is no sorrow, no more separation, no more pain and no more tears. It is a place not made with human hands but with Our Creator’s Hands.

No eye here has ever seen nor can our minds imagine the things that Our Lord has for us when we meet with him in that Eternal Home.

This is not goodbye, this is only the beginning. This is simply a time that we can rest assured that we will see each other again. This is a time where we say everything that needs to be said but we rest assured on the promise of Our God that we will be together again.

Calvin Miller says, “Death is not the terror that we suppose. Jesus dying the most excruciating way, He was not dead for long. In the chronicles of God, no death has ever lasted long. We fall asleep on this cruel planet and wake up a world away. It is amazing just how often the New Testament speaks of death as sleep.

What is death at most?

It is a journey for a season.

A sleep longer than usual.

If thou fearest death, thou shouldst also fear sleep.

Ronnie

P.S. I had several friends encourage me that I would do much better than 3hours in the half marathon because I was running in honor of Ona. I finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes. To God be all Glory!

You may also want to sign Ona’s guest book. Eventhough you may not know them here, you will meet them in heaven one day soon.

http://caringbridge.org/visit/onaburnssmith/guestbook

Update on our friends Gary and Ona

First I would like to thank all of you who have been praying for Gary and Ona. Many of you do not know them and have never met them and yet you pray because of our friendship.

Ona has now been moved into a Hospice House where she and Gary can be together and the best of care is provided around the clock.

Here is a note from their daughter, Jessica. “Mom and Dad had a very restful night in their “new home”.  When the doctor came to visit Mom told him she was concerned about all of her “new” visitors.  The Dr pulled Dad aside to address this concern.  Turns out the DOCTOR and staff ARE the NEW visitors.  Mom is very comfortable and the staff is wonderful.  It’s great that Dad is able to not only stay in the room but he has an ACTUAL BED…right now.  This has truly been a blessing.”

We appreciate your continued prayers for the Smith Family.

Ronnie

Information about Southwest Christian Care

http://www.swchospice.org/common/content.asp

Purpose Statement

Our purpose is to glorify God as guardians of the sanctity and dignity of life by providing physical, emotional, social, and spiritual care to our patients and their families and offer hope based on faith in Jesus Christ as Lord of life and death.

 

Death is not final

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” — 1 Corinthians 15:54

As Christians, even if our bodies die, we don’t! Our physical death just means that we will be given immortal bodies. Christ will raise us up and clothe us with immortality. Death will not have a hold on us because we are God’s children. Victory is ours. Death does not have the final word; Jesus does, and he says, “Rise!”

Death is not the terror we supposed

The cross teaches us that death is not the terror that we supposed. Jesus, dying in the most excruciating way, was not dead for long. In the chronicles of God, no death has ever lasted long. We fall asleep on this cruel planet and wake up a world away. It is amazing just how often the New Testament speaks of death as sleep (Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthinas 11:30; 15:51; 1 Thessolonians 4:14).

John Chrysostom in the fourth century said,

What is death at most?

It is a journey for a season:

a sleep longer than usual.

If thou fearest death,

thou shouldst also fear sleep.

Death is not only sleep; it is a sleep of transformation. Paul said, “We will not all sleep (or die), but we will all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51 NIV)

We all loof forward to sleeping that wonderful sleep of transformation. Ben Franklin wrote this epitaph for his own gravestone:

The body of

Benjamin Franklin, Printer,

Like the cover of an old book,

Its contents torn out,

And stript of its lettering and gilding,

Lies here, food for worms;

But the work shall not be lost,

For it will, as he believ’d,

Appear once more

In a new and more elegant edition,

Corrected and improved

By the Author.

We must have the end in view!

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God
the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and
power.
    — 1 Corinthians 15:24
     
THOUGHT:
   Closing time! That’s when everything is counted, the doors are
locked, and the final tally is made. Jesus is Lord of closing time.
Even though he won the victory over death and sin while he was
here, we’re still waiting to get swept up into his victory march.
But, that day is coming. Every knee will bow! Every evil power will
face destruction. The hearts that are yielded to God, however, will
be placed into his loving and mighty hands forever. Our Lord
reigns!

Thoughts on John’s Funeral

Today was a sad day. Misty and I traveled to Rocky Mount for Mike’s brother’s funeral, John Jefferson Akers Jr. or JJ as he was called by many of his friends. Misty ended up staying at Mike’s moms house and keeping Christopher and Victoria, she is a great wife. Three hours at the funeral home is much more than a 2 and 3 year old can be expected to handle. I appreciate Misty caring that I could be there for Mike and that Mike and Caitlin could be with the family.

I noticed several things today. There is a lot more weeping at the fneral of a young person. Not because they are loved more but just for the fact that young people are supposed to live full and long lives. I will say again that it was a sad day. Mothers are not supposed to live longer than their children. It’s just not the natural course of nature. It is so hard to lose a brother or sister at such a young age and I say that from experience. When I was 23 my sister was killed and she was only 26. I just realized that is just about the same age of Mike and John. That never crossed my mind until this moment. Judy left behind 2 young boys and John left behind 4 little boys. I will never forget the pain and frustration along with the questions that I had and still ask questions all these years later.

The preacher did a good job with the service for John. He spoke about John’s sense of humor and his ability to bring laughter and joy into the lives of those around him. When he said that I thought of Mike, he has the best personality of anybody that I know and I don’t say that just because he is my son. Mike always has a smile and a kind word to say to anyone at anytime and that is the same way that JJ was described. John was full of life and yet he died so young, so much promise and so many plans.

The preacher spoke about the fact that JJ, Mike and Becca all attended the church where he is on staff when they were much younger. It is so important that we as the church reach out to the children in our communities. It is comforting to know that they were in church together and able to hear the Gospel preached.

There were good memories that were shared and the pastor said that is where we find strength and comfort, in the stories, the good memories that we all have of our loved ones after they have died.

I went today not having known JJ except through Mike telling me about him for the past 10 years. Mike has fond memories of he and JJ as well as Becca and Nicole growing up as brothers and sisters. They always took up for each other and drew strength from one another. When Mike came to live with me JJ was his hero and in many ways that will never change.

I will share more thoughts later but I just want to say as I do often. I am the most blessed man in the world. I have an Awesome family that I love with all my heart and they love me. I would lay down my life for my family. I feel the hurt of Mike, Linda, Becca, Nicole and all John’s friends and I wish there was more that I could do. Let those around you know they are loved, don’t just tell them, spend time with them, do things with them, just sit and talk with them. One of the greatest things that I do is sit and have talks with Mike.

I love you Mike, I understand your pain and wish I could stop the hurt but I will walk with you through it.

Pupa

John Jefferson Akers Jr.

John Jefferson Akers Jr.
John Jefferson Akers, Jr., 27, of Rocky Mount, passed away Thursday, April 9, 2009. He was preceded in death by his father, John Jefferson Akers, Sr.; grandmother, Esta Marie Orndorff; grandfather, Rice Williams Akers, Sr.; and an aunt, Jane Elizabeth Funkhouser. He is survived by his four sons, DeMario, Izaiah, Jeremiah and Zacharias; his friend and mother of his three youngest sons, Jolene Harris and her daughter Christin; mother and stepfather, Linda and A.D. Kennedy; sisters, Nichole Carter and Josh LaBrecque; brother, Michael Collins; sister-in-law, Caitlin; sister, Rebecca Clark and husband Marshall; stepbrother, Michael Kennedy; stepsister, Tracey Dixon and husband Dixon; grandmother, Elenor Akers; grandfather, Bruce Orndorff; numerous aunts, uncles; nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be conducted from Lynch Conner-Bowman Funeral Chapel 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, 2009 with the Rev. Mark Griffith officiating. The family will receive friends beginning at 12 noon Tuesday until service time at Lynch Conner-Bowman Funeral Home, 140 Floyd Avenue, Rocky Mount, (540)483-5533.

Funeral Arrangements for Michael’s Brother

 

 

John Jefferson Akers Jr.

     

John Jefferson Akers, Jr., 27, of Rocky Mount, passed away Thursday, April 9, 2009. Funeral services will be conducted from Lynch Conner-Bowman Funeral Chapel 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, 2009 with Rev. Mark Griffith officiating.

The family will receive friends beginning at 12 Noon Tuesday until service time at Lynch Conner-Bowman Funeral Home, 140 Floyd Avenue, Rocky Mount. (540)483-5533.

Dealing with death

Here is the status I placed on Facebook this morning while waiting to meet with Kyle’s teacher and principal.

“Life is hard, lots of choices, pressures, health issues, family issues, life & death issues. Most of our problems are self inflicted.”

I had no idea at that time Mike’s brother had taken his own life just a few hours before. I was at home about 10am when Mike called to let me know. I wasn’t having a bad day and I didn’t  have anything like that on my mind. I would have never imagined it.

We desire your prayers for Mike and his family in Rocky Mount. This is going to one of those times when Mike has to deal with the troubles of life and this is not self inflicted.

Ronnie

On Death and Dying

I am reading a book “On Death and Dying” by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D.

The first chapter is entitled “On the fear of death” and this is is direct contrast to what the Bible says in Hebrews 2:15. Jesus death takes away our fear of death. I am enjoying the book and I am finding many things that are helpful. I never cease to be amazed at the things I find through study. The author says that the Indians would shoot arrows into the air in order to keep the evil, bad spirits away and this may be the origin of the military firing into the air. I don’t know for sure but I certainly intend to check that theory out.

The tombstone may be there for keeping the bad spirits in the ground. There has always been a lot of taboo and fear of the unknown in death and dying but this author says that the increase in medical technology has made death worse in many ways.

“The more we are making advancement in science, the more we seem to fear and deny the reality of death. How is this possible? We use euphemisms, we make the dead look as if they were asleep, we ship the children off to protect them from the anxiety and turmoil around the house if the patient is fortunate enough to die at home, we don’t allow children to visit their dying parents in the hospitals, we have long and controversial discussions about whether patients should be told the truth – a question that rarely arises when the dying person is tended by the family physician who has known him from delivery to death and who knows the weaknesses and strengths of each member of the family.”

There is a lot of great information in this quote. It is obviously a book that was written originally much earlier than 2009. There are few who have a physician today from birth to death, as a matter of fact I do not know such a person.

Ronnie

Thoughts on death and dying

We are preparing for a trip to Atlanta in the morning to visit with our great friends, Gary and Ona. Ona has been living with cancer for a few years now and the time has come that she doesn’t have very long to live here on earth. I along with Ona and Gary will be planning for the funeral that is destined to happen in the near future.

First, I can’t imagine the pain and anguish that Ona has experienced with all of this. Second, I can’t imagine the pain and anguish that Gary has experienced in this same time. Gary and Ona have 4 children and several grandchildren that are also going through this experience with them.

Hebrews 2: 14-15 NIV

¹⁴Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

The Message

^14-15Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.

After visiting with Gary and Ona several times over the years and Ona living with cancer I can attest to the fact that Ona has no fear of death. Of course she would like to be here with her family but she is not afraid of actually dying. Ona knows that she will finally be face to face with Our Lord.

I never really pondered these verses until yesterday when a friend responded to a facebook statementI had made. Why are we so afraid of death? As a Christian there is no fear. There is however great anguish at leaving behind our loved ones. I rest assured that God has taken care of me for 43 years and He is going to care for our loved ones just the same, if we are here or not.

Death is like flying for me. It is not my favorite thing to do but I can do it. I don’t like flying because I like to be in control and when I am flying I have absolutely no control. I don’t know how to fly a plane and I really have no desire to learn. When it comes to death we have absolutely no control. We have advanced in this world to the place where doctors can keep us alive longer but the fact is they cannot stop death from happening. It is like flying for those of us who do not know how to fly.

However, God is the Pilot, the Creator. He knows exactly what is happening and He is in control. Even more than I place my life in the hands of the pilot and trust them to get me to my earthly destination, I can trust God to get me safely to my eternal destination. I think the fear is in the fact that we cannot wrap our minds around the how of all this.

I will be blogging my thoughts the next several days as we are able to visit and talk more about Ona’s home going. This is one of the most awkward things I believe a person could be called upon to participate in and at the same time it is one of the greatest honors one could ever have. I am being allowed into the life and death of a dear friend. What an honor. I do not feel worthy of such an honor, yet I stand in awe of an awesome God that has called me to this task. 

This period of time, the next 4 days and the days that pass until the time the funeral comes will no doubt be a time of stress, pain, anguish, frustration and yet a time of celebration. A celebration that I have been allowed to know and be a friend with Ona for the past 10 years. A celebration that God is allowing me to be with this family at such a difficult time. A celebration that one of God’s children is allowed to teach me and those around her the way that a Christian should die to this life and anticipate the next.

God is the Father who loves us so much more than we love our own children and that is a lot. He can be trusted and He has been preparing us for this time. There is so much to think about. My mind is just racing from one thing to the next, yet it is stalled on this time and this experience that I wish we could avoid. I wish that God would miraciously heal Ona and we wouldn’t be thinking about such things.

This is a time that each and every one of us will have to face. Sooner or later each one of us will have to walk this road.

Are you ready?

Ecclesiastes 7 (The Message)

Don’t Take Anything for Granted

 ¹ A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date tells more than your birth date.

 ² You learn more at a funeral than at a feast—
   After all, that’s where we’ll end up. We might discover
      something from it.

 ³ Crying is better than laughing.
   It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

My heart is being scoured!

Ronnie