Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith, 87, of Mt. Pleasant, IA, died Tuesday, October 29, 2013, at the Henry County Health Center. Visitation will begin after 12:00 noon on Friday, November 1st, at the Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel, where the family will receive friends from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. that evening. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church with Pastor Andy Avery officiating. Burial will be in the Green Mound Cemetery. Memorials have been established to the First Baptist Church and the Green Mound Cemetery in her memory. Born January 23, 1926 in rural Yarmouth, IA, Bessie Bertha was the daughter of Joseph and Iva (Kemmry) Zachmeyer. She attended the Yarmouth School. On March 13, 1943, she married Melvin Everett Smith in Nauvoo, IL. He preceded her in death on June 12, 1984. Bessie worked as a bookkeeper alongside her husband for his construction business and the family farm. Always a homemaker, her passion and focus of her life was taking care of her children and grandchildren. Favorite hobbies included cooking and baking with her specialty being cinnamon rolls and sour cream jumbles. She enjoyed growing flowers, especially roses, and gardening. A member of First Baptist Church, she also belonged to the women's circle of the church. Survivors include two daughters, Betty (Irvin) Jerrel and Alison Black all of Mt. Pleasant, IA; two sons, Duane (Laura) Smith of Ft. Collins, CO and Everett Smith of Mt. Pleasant; thirteen grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; and a son-in-law, Jim Hodson of Rockdale, TX. Preceding her in death are her husband, Melvin; her parents; a daughter, Charlotte Hodson; a brother, Martin "Bud" Zachmeyer; three sisters, Marie Engel, Ruth Charles and Nellie Downs; and a grandson, Nick Smith.