The Graveside Service for Mrs. Lorene Smith will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 11:00 A.M. at Staley Memorial Gardens in Americus, Georgia. Due to COVID-19 concerns, we ask that you MASK UP and continue to practice social distancing for your safety and for the protection of others.
Mrs. Lorene Sanders Smith was born in Sumter County Georgia on November 23, 1942 to the late R.B. Sanders and the late Katie Bell Cottle. At an early age she joined the St. John AME Church in Plains, Georgia. She was educated in the Public Schools of Sumter County.
Lorene developed a very strong commitment to activism during the Civil Rights Era. She participated in marches and lunch counter sit-ins. One of her proudest memories was having been present at the March on Washington, where she was able to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his famous I Have A Dream Speech.
In 1964 she moved to Rochester, New York and married the late Eugene Smith. There she continued on the path of social and political activism. She worked for many years for the Monroe County Board of Elections and did volunteer work with her church, community and schools.
Lorene’s memories will always be cherished by her daughters: Dr. Pamela Baker, Patricia Johnson, and Candace (Cleveland) Brownlee; her siblings: Bobbie Armstrong, Katie Watts, Gwendolyn Hayes, Robert Sanders, Aretha Sander-Patterson, Mary Sanders-Mack, Mattie Sanders-Colquitt, Martha Sanders-Townsly and Alma Solomon. Several other relatives and friends also survive.
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