Martha Ann Smith

Mrs. Martha Ann (Thompson) Smith was born on April 8, 1952, in Conway, Arkansas to Gus and Eunice Thompson. Martha, the youngest of five children, attended Guy Perkins High School in Guy, Arkansas, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.

Known for her joy and effervescence, Martha was the one friends and family often turned to for comfort and guidance. Although to her siblings, Martha was the baby sister, she was still the one that they looked to for wisdom. Never admonishing, Martha chose to use a kinder voice befitting a southern, Christian lady.

As Christ showed his disciples the way to minister to others through their works on Earth, so too did Martha in the way that she treated each and every person that she met. Martha was baptized in Christ on June 13, 1979. For 30 years, she attended McAlmont Church of Christ. At the time of her passing, Martha was a faithful and loyal member of the Little Rock Church of Christ.

Martha was a Godly wife for the late Michael Van Smith whom she married in 1975. To this union, there was born a beautiful daughter, Nicole Yvette Smith. Martha remained faithful to the memory of her late husband until her death, exemplifying true love.

As a Christian, Martha personified Jesus’ example of humility and servitude in all aspects of her life, specifically when it came to her career. She began working as a case worker at the Arkansas Department of Human Services and took on this position with great pride. She made sure that all of her clients’ needs were met no matter how many extra hours it took for her to get the job done. Martha worked diligently through the ranks of the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and eventually became an assistant director for the division of Developmental Disability Services. Even her role as an assistant director of a major division within DDS, Martha Smith was not braggadocios about her status. She even remained meek and humble when she earned an employee of the year award in 2015. This was the kind of person that she was.

If one word symbolized the life of Mrs. Martha Ann (Thompson) Smith, it would be selfless. She always put others’ needs before her own, whether it be listening to a church member or giving a trusted friend a ride to the store. Mrs. Smith truly believed in carrying out Christ’s mission to serve others. She will be missed, but her life and legacy lives on in those whom she touched.

Left to cherish her memory is her daughter, Nicole, whom she cherished with all of her heart. She also leaves behind two sisters: Albessie Thompson and Edith (Columbus) Brown; two brothers: Theodis Thompson and Felix (Janette) Thompson; nieces and nephews: Edmonda (Eric) Bailey, Columbus (Donna) Brown, IV, Theodis Thompson, Jr., Marla (Byron) Hatch, Phillip (Judy) Thompson and Antonio Thompson.