The Life of Meddie "Kitty" Artelia Smith
LAFAYETTE - Meddie Artelia (Polk) "Kitty" Smith, RN, a long-time
resident of Lafayette, passed away at home in Coquille, Oregon, Friday
December 16, 2016, at the age of 93. Kitty''s memorial service will be at
10:00 AM Wednesday, July 19, in the chapel at Grace Presbyterian Church
at 518 Roselawn, Blvd. in Lafayette. The service will be officiated by
the Reverend Aline Russell.
Kitty''s early years were a challenge that formed her into a beautiful woman. She was born to Florence Marie and Earl Baker Polk Sr. on February 25, 1923, in Denver, Colorado. A tumultuous childhood included time living with each set of grandparents, a few years living in an Episcopal Church Home in Memphis, TN, then years living with her father and step-mother on a small farm in rural Mississippi. Three touchpoints saved her: love and a stable presence over the years from her paternal grandparents, a good educational foundation and a particular nun who cared for her at the Episcopal Church Home, and knowing deeply that Jesus truly loved her, a gift from a Sunday School teacher that carried her through difficult times her entire life.
Kitty''s brilliance and drive took her from that Mississippi dirt farm to nursing school in a charity hospital in Mississippi, where her hard work and dedication soon led to her assignment as the single nurse on duty for all three floors of the hospital.
She married her beloved husband John Douglas Smith on December 13, 1947, and they moved to Lafayette. Life held all the normal adventures a young family could offer until 1961, when Kitty had a major stroke, the result of an inoperable anomaly in her brain. Her doctors expected her to live at the most another five years. Two weeks later her eldest daughter was involved in a horrific accident; after another couple of weeks the challenges of making sure her daughter was getting the care and attention she needed got Kitty up and back into living again.
After several years of medical difficulties Kitty took control of her life once more and blossomed into a Christian powerhouse - active for many years in Grace Presbyterian Church in Lafayette, Church Women United, and Louisiana Interchurch Conference. Ecumenism was her passion - bringing people of all faiths together, finding areas of agreement instead of focusing on differences. She was ordained as a Deacon and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and for many years was the "go-to" person for any issue at Grace Presbyterian as she lived only a block away.
In the year 2000, Kitty moved to California to live with her daughter Lyn, then in 2013 she and Lyn moved once again, to Oregon - back to a farm, back to attending services at an Episcopal Church.
Kitty is survived by her brother William Ernest Polk, in McLean, VA, and her three children - Kathryn Artelia de Koster ("Katie"), Douglas Earl Smith ("Doug"), and Marilyn Anne Pratt ("Lyn"). She was preceded in death by her husband (September 12, 1994) and her siblings Earl Baker Polk Jr. and Anna Gertrude Polk Sumrall - Earl in an accident during World War II and Anna April 28, 1995.
Kitty''s early years were a challenge that formed her into a beautiful woman. She was born to Florence Marie and Earl Baker Polk Sr. on February 25, 1923, in Denver, Colorado. A tumultuous childhood included time living with each set of grandparents, a few years living in an Episcopal Church Home in Memphis, TN, then years living with her father and step-mother on a small farm in rural Mississippi. Three touchpoints saved her: love and a stable presence over the years from her paternal grandparents, a good educational foundation and a particular nun who cared for her at the Episcopal Church Home, and knowing deeply that Jesus truly loved her, a gift from a Sunday School teacher that carried her through difficult times her entire life.
Kitty''s brilliance and drive took her from that Mississippi dirt farm to nursing school in a charity hospital in Mississippi, where her hard work and dedication soon led to her assignment as the single nurse on duty for all three floors of the hospital.
She married her beloved husband John Douglas Smith on December 13, 1947, and they moved to Lafayette. Life held all the normal adventures a young family could offer until 1961, when Kitty had a major stroke, the result of an inoperable anomaly in her brain. Her doctors expected her to live at the most another five years. Two weeks later her eldest daughter was involved in a horrific accident; after another couple of weeks the challenges of making sure her daughter was getting the care and attention she needed got Kitty up and back into living again.
After several years of medical difficulties Kitty took control of her life once more and blossomed into a Christian powerhouse - active for many years in Grace Presbyterian Church in Lafayette, Church Women United, and Louisiana Interchurch Conference. Ecumenism was her passion - bringing people of all faiths together, finding areas of agreement instead of focusing on differences. She was ordained as a Deacon and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and for many years was the "go-to" person for any issue at Grace Presbyterian as she lived only a block away.
In the year 2000, Kitty moved to California to live with her daughter Lyn, then in 2013 she and Lyn moved once again, to Oregon - back to a farm, back to attending services at an Episcopal Church.
Kitty is survived by her brother William Ernest Polk, in McLean, VA, and her three children - Kathryn Artelia de Koster ("Katie"), Douglas Earl Smith ("Doug"), and Marilyn Anne Pratt ("Lyn"). She was preceded in death by her husband (September 12, 1994) and her siblings Earl Baker Polk Jr. and Anna Gertrude Polk Sumrall - Earl in an accident during World War II and Anna April 28, 1995.
