Mrs. Melva Lee Smith passed peacefully at the Golden Age Nursing Facility on September 15, 2023, in Guthrie, Oklahoma at the age of 82. Strode Funeral Home and Cremation is in charge of the arrangements.

Melva was born on June 4, 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from High School, she married Charles William Smith on July 11, 1957. Melva was a home maker, retail clerk, and wonderful mother to her two children.

Melva loved her family and friends with a fierce loyalty and faithfulness. She enjoyed flowers, a good book, her stories on TV, bear claws, meatball subs, beating everyone in competitive games of rummy, sock hop music, figurines of all kinds but especially ducks and angels. She enjoyed watching her favorite baseball teams, the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals, adult coloring books, puzzle books, talking to dear friends from back home, looking at pictures of the family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and reading her Bible. Everyone who met her thought she was one of the sweetest people they knew. She was kind natured, soft spoken, and lived with a mission to make everyone smile.

Melva was actively involved in the United Methodist Church in her youth in Baltimore, MD. In later years, she attended the United Methodist Church in Glencoe, OK. She maintained her faith until the end of her life. She spoke to the Lord daily and often told stories of their conversations. She loved Jesus and longed to be with Him in heaven, especially toward the end of her life. Her favorite possession was a picture of Jesus that used to hang in her childhood Sunday School classroom. We rejoice that she is now in the presence of the Lord and reunited with all who have gone before her.

Melva was preceded in death by her parents Charles Otto and Loretta Grace Nicodemus of Baltimore, Maryland and her husband, Charles William Smith of Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Melva is survived by her children Pamela Lynn Porter and Charles Theodore Smith, her five grandchildren; Carolyn Ann Shields, Lacey Renee Bacon, Eric Joseph Smith, Joseph David Porter, Robin Lynn Smith, her great grandchildren; Aiden Scarberry, Aryka Smith, Abigail Bacon, Smith Bacon, Brandon Shields, Lauren Shields, Knox Bacon, Randi Bacon, Ella Greenhaw, and her sister Joy Wagner.
The family would like to thank all who have showered them with calls, texts, emails, and other demonstrations of love, the staff of Golden Age Nursing Facility, Companion Hospice, and especially chaplain Gene Owen of Guthrie, Oklahoma.

There will be no public memorial service at Melva's request. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Companion Hospice 1314 E Oklahoma Ave, Guthrie, OK 73044.