Laura Francis Smith 1911-1989

Laura was the son of George and Martha Ellen (Brooks) Smith. SHe was born on January 7, 1911 and was the second child of seven. She was born in the Irish Wilderness of Oregon County, Missouri. She was a small woman but head strong. She met Pearl Wallace Petty and on 24 Dec 1929 in Eminence, Missouri they were married. They lived on his farm 5 miles south of Winona, Missouri.

Grandma was a very devoted Penecost preacher. She read her bible every day and played gospel songs on her old piano. She quilted, made gardens and canned food, and worked hard around the farm. Her favorite hobby was sewing. She could take measurements of any person, then cut a pattern by those measurements and make clothes. She would take old clothes and cut them up to make quilt scraps. From them she made patch work quilts to keep us warm in winter.

On September 18, 1930, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Anna Frances. Anna was born premature, as she had no fingernails, nor eyelashes. She was a very tiny baby. She did survive and was very blonde when a small child.

On June 16, 1936 her second child was born, a son, Wilfred Eugene Petty. He was a big healthy infant who had no problems whatever. He too was blonde when he was a youngster.

Pearl became sick and on May 17, 1961 he passed away, leaving Laura to fend for herself. She sold the farm and moved into town and rented a small house. She went to work for a local clothing store. Later on her grand daughter, Anita Seybold, managed to get her a job at the Winona Public School lunchroom where she worked for years and finally retired from.

When she was close to 60 she married her second husband, Herbert Bland. He taught her to drive a car and bought her one. She finally got her first drivers license! She was really happy not to be alone and loved Herbert very much. It was a short lived happiness, as he became ill a few years later and he too passed on.

In 1980 her granddaughter, Anita and husband Roger Campbell, opened a cafe in Piedmont, Missouri where they lived. She came to work for them as a cook and was the happiest I had ever seen her since Herbert had died. She loved making Pizza for the local teens, who loved her cooking and would order pizza almost daily. They knew her as "grandma" and would come into the cafe and yell "hey grandma, I want another of those delicious Pizza's you make". She would smile real big and make up one. She loved working there and for once never wanted to go home to Winona to even check on her home. The cafe did not work out and because of the slow times it had to be closed. Laura then went back home to Winona, but for years she talked of how much fun she had working there.

Her health began failing her when she had a stroke. She slowly got worst and worst until she was walking outside alone in the wee hours of the morning. Her son Wilfred "Gene" came from Maysville, Missouri and got her for a visit. That was in June of 1989. A few days later she laid down on his couch to take a nap and never woke up.

I was very close to my grandmother. She raised me most of my life so she was more of a mother to me. I missed her terribly and still do. She was a very unique person and I treasure all the wonderful memories I have of her. I wish others had known her as well.

Written by her grand daughter...... Anita Seybold