Elynor Willis Smith

Elynor Willis Smith, 87, of Franklin, Tennessee, passed away on Sunday, April 16^th, 2023.

Visitation will be held at 3:00 PM at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home in Franklin, Tennessee on Wednesday, April 19^th, followed by the funeral service at 3:30 PM. Graveside services will be conducted the next day at Viola Cemetery in Viola, Tennessee in a private ceremony.

Elynor Lucille Willis was born in Viola, Tennessee on January 3, 1936. She graduated in 1954 from McMinnville Central High School, where she excelled in music, especially piano, an interest that would continue for the rest of her life, though she was reluctant to perform in front of any audience, even her family. She was married to Seth Madison Smith on May 24, 1960; they were married for 56 years until his death in 2016. Elynor spent her 20s and 30s consumed by the raising of three independent and challenging children and, to a certain extent, her husband. She succeeded with all four, though the husband took a little longer. For the remainder of her life, she involved herself in various volunteer and charity organizations. Had she grown up in a more recent and enlightened time, she would have been successful in most any endeavor she chose, but particularly in architecture or art.

She was a true Southern Belle, always superbly dressed and armed with a genuine charm, wit and self-deprecating sense of humor. She insisted that her children and husband exhibit good Southern manners, even to the point of instructing her 7-year-old son on how to set and serve a formal dinner table until he reluctantly and finally mastered it. She was loving, supportive and fiercely loyal. But there was another side to her that suffered no fools or misogynists. Elynor was an early supporter of Women’s Rights, though she was subtle in her advocacy, especially in the “education” of her beloved but oft errant husband.

Elynor is survived by son Keith Smith (and wife, Melanie) of Collierville, Tennessee; daughter Elynor Smith of Franklin, Tennessee; son, Kevin Smith (and wife, Beverly) of Knoxville, Tennessee; half-sisters Cathy Willis Corleone (and husband Vincent) of Collierville, Tennessee and Barbara Jane Hughes (and husband, Darryl); and four grandchildren: Seth, Ross, Charlotte, and Jonah, of whom she was extremely proud.

She is preceded in death by her father, David Jackson Willis and mother, Lucille Murray Stubblefield Sims.

The family of Elynor Smith wishes to thank the wonderful nurses and staff at Morning Pointe Memory Care unit in Franklin, Tennessee for her extraordinary care over the last years of her life.