CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF Pstfier Mae ranison Smith FEBRUARY 3, 1917- FEBRUARY 13, 2005 I She knew every way ofbeing in the world and could summon them home again, open to wholeness - Toni Cade Bambara 12:oo NooN SATURDAY,FEBRUARYI9,2005 THE EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH THE HoruzoN SANCTUARY The Reverend Dr. joseph L. Roberts, Jr., Senior Pastor Obituary When a life has plucked the "weasel" of thought and fired the pistol of action in its time, liberating a future for the good and the faithful, then that life receives through the ages an everlasting yes. For more than sixty of her eighty-eight years, Esther Mae Granison Smith became and remains a quintessential Atlanta woman whose voice resonates globally. She was born in Thomasville, Georgia in 1917 and underwent the passages of her early years under the supervision of Lucy Eleanor Gray, beloved "Aunt Lucy" -- surrogate for Thomas Granison~ Sr., and Mattie Smith Granison, Esther's parents who died in the flu epidemic of the early twenties. After attending Fort Valley State College, she married and with her husband and baby Eleanor migrated to Atlanta in 1939 to begin a kaleidoscopic vocation of service: entrepreneur, public school teacher, CEO, Christian educator, global missionary, organization founder, civic worker, and mother. As entrepreneur, she was proprietress of Smith's Music and Appliance Company- a landmark Auburn Avenue business among such establishments as the famous "Ma Sutton's" dining room, Edward's Market, Yates and Milton's Drugstore(s), Mutual Federal and Citizen's Trust banks, Haugabrooks and Cox Funeral Homes, and a plethora of other "Sweet Auburn" Black businesses. She also served on the business and professional staff of the National YWCA who awarded her a scholarship to study for three summers at the University of Chicago. She is a past president of Delta Chapter, Iota Phi Lambda Sorority. As public school teacher, she taught at Hamilton High School in DeKalb County and also served on the Atlanta Public Library Board of Directors where she promoted the passage of the referendum to build the downtown library. As CEO, she served for twenty-two years as Assistant Director of the Metro-Atlanta/Fulton County American Heart Association. As Christian educator, Esther Smith studied classical literature, the scriptural texts, and hermeneutics at various institutions including the University of Chicago. She was instructor in the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education for thirty-eight years. Her invaluable counsel and critique was sought by seminarians throughout the country and abroad. As global missionary, she served until her death as Southeastern Director of Foreign Missions for the Progressive National Baptist Convention and founded the New Era Baptist Convention of Georgia. From those posts she annually conducted Christian institutes and seminars. She was a popular Sunday morning speaker at churches from Maine to California. A tithing member of Ebenezer Baptist Church, she -maintained a devoted pride in the two pastors of her tenure: the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Senior and the now senior pastor, the Reverend Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Jr. She was also a loyal and devoted Sister of the Ruth Chapter #102.0.E.S. Order of the Eastern Star. Perhaps her mentorship by her ancestors such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Nannie Burroughs, and Lucy E. Campbell and her long friendship with Alberta Williams King prepared her to share daises with the revered former president of Morehouse College Benjamin Elijah Mays, Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. and Jr., and the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter. As mother, she reared Eleanor and all of her spiritual children daughters, sons, nieces, and nephews - on these words: "Your job is not to curse the darkness, but to light a candle and discover the unseen way." She was mistress of the magnificent poetry of life. She is survived by a daughter, Eleanor W. Traylor ofWashington, D.C.; a brother, Thomas Granison, Jr. of Saugerties, New York; five nieces: Carole Ann Granison of Oakland, California; Margaret T. Shed of New York City, New York; Faye Esther Humphries of New York City, New York; Freddye L. Hill of New Orleans, Louisiana; Bettye L. Davis ofTampa, Florida; a god-son, William Grigley of Atlanta, Georgia; a god-daughter, Betty Chandler of Atlanta, Georgia; and a host of other loving family and friends. "Mother Esther was mother to Eleanor. Yes, that is true. However the size ofher heart would not allow her to be Mother to just one, although admittedly, a grand one. Her abundance oflove needed other children to receive her gifts. Mother Esther was not hindered by age in her search for children. She dared to mother men and women nearly her age, her age, and even older than she. She also mothered ideas; the idea that African Americans had to be seen as equals in citizenship with all other Americans. She mothered the idea that women were at least equal to men. Andfor me, the mostpoignant ofall her efforts, was she dared to mother me. And I was blessed. And I am blessed. Thank you Mother Esther. " - Maya Angelou Mrs. Esther Smith, dearest I am so gratefolfor your life, and the ways in which it touched mine. In your presence I believed that I had been summoned to be my best, able to achieve the best, and blessed by the already blessed. Those are the gifts ofa beautiful soul completely alive in God's palm. Still Toni Morrison Order ofService The Reverend Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Jr., Presiding Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr., Director ofthe Church Choir Ella Lewis, Church Organist THE PRELUDE Charles M. Widor, composer Toccata, Symphony Number 5 THE DRUM SALUTE Entry of the Procession THE INVOCATION The Reverend Dr. Douglas E. Stowers, Pastor Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia A HYMN OF AFFIRMATION Blessed Assurance Congregational Hymn ScRIPTURAL TExTs The Old Testament, Psalm, Ninety The Reverend Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr., Senior Pastor Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta THE NEW TESTAMENT First Corinthians, Thirteenth Chapter The Reverend Dr. Kenneth Board, Jr. A HYMN OF TESTIMONY Watts/Eugene Butler, Arr. Festival Piece on Saint Anne The Church Choir REFLECTIONS Dr. Major L. Jemison, President Progressive National Baptist Convention Dr. C. Mackey Daniels, Former President Progressive National Baptist Convention Dr. A.A.W Motley, President New Era Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia Dr. Delores Robinson, President February Birth Month Club Mrs. Christine King Farris A HYMN OF FAITH Spafford/David T. Clydesdale, Arr. It Is well The Church Choir OBITUARY (To be read silently) A WoRD OF CoMFORT Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Senior Pastor Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio A SHouT oF Joy Ride On King jesus The Church Choir of Ebenezer THE EULOGY Pastor Joseph L. Roberts, Jr. A SoNG oF LIFE we've Come This Far By Faith A WoRD oF GRATITUDE Eleanor W Traylor, Daughter A SoNG oF TRIUMPH: REcESSION For All The Saints INTERMENT South View Cemetery May her end be never For all she inspires Let her Live! Andgive birth to brightness - Amiri Baraka AcTIVE PALLBEARERS The Deacons of Ebenezer Church HONORARY PALLBEARERS The Reverend Clergy The Men of the February Birth Month Club FLOWER LADIES The Ladies Board of Ushers The Women of the February Birth Month Club AcKNOWLEDGMENTS Eleanor, William and Betty are forever grateful for the love you have poured on our beloved Mother. Your kindness to us during her illness has sustained us. Ule thank all of her spiritual daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, and her entire Church family who stand with us even now - especially Carole and Pat Hoover for invaluable assistance. Contributions may be kindly made to the Esther M Smith Scholarship Fund at Spelman College or to The Missions Ministry ofthe Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) 6oi soth St. NE. Washington, D. C. 20019