Annie Cecelia Smothers

Annie Cecelia Smothers, 91 of Newburg, Maryland, died May 14, 2016. The youngest and last sole survivor of 10 siblings, Annie was born November 6, 1924 in Faulkner, Maryland to the late William Dyson and Mary Green Hawkins. Annie's family moved from Faulkner to Mt. Victoria, Maryland when she was 10 years old. At the tender age of 10, she started working for the Reeder family as a waitress and house cleaner until the age of 17. During a portion of those years, between 10 and 17, Annie attended a one-room schoolhouse, also in Mt. Victoria. She moved on to Bel Alton High School where she attended eighth grade for only half the school year. At that point, she quit school to help her mother take care of her handicapped sister. In 1946, along with her mother and sister, Annie moved to Rock Point, Maryland with her brother, Eddie. It was there she met the love of her life, John Smothers. She worked on the Lancaster farm as a cook, at the Rock Point Oyster House shucking oysters and picking crabs, and also working for various people as a domestic worker in Rock Point and Cobb Island. In August 1948, Annie and John married. Out of that union came 15 children. She is survived by her daughters, Gladys Smothers, Cecelia Clark (James), Jean Jones, Regina Clark, Doris Smothers, Margaret Bumbry, Alice Smothers, Gloria Minor, Georgia Smothers, and Cynthia Smothers; her sons, John Wade, Jr. (Louise), Wayne Smothers, and Ernest Smothers; her sister-in-laws, Gertrude Hanna, Helena Gooseberry, and Dorothy King; 31 grandchildren, 58 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren; and a plethora of nieces and nephews. The next 23 years, Annie worked as Head Cook at Thunderbird Motel, Popes Creek Restaurant, Shymansky's Restaurant, and Buddy Garner's Restaurant. As her older daughters grew up, Annie took and trained them at the various restaurants as her waitresses. In the 1960's, Annie attended Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Issue, Maryland and for more than six years, she organized and coordinated the Annual September Picnic. In the 1970's, she did domestic work for several homes from Cobb Island to Mechanicsville to La Plata, Maryland. One day she was approached by a friend of one of the homeowners she was cleaning for and was asked if she would care for her father in her home. She accepted the offer and took on a new line of work - home healthcare. One by one, Annie did home care for several patients until their deaths. During this time, Annie continued to work hard outside and inside the home. She was very involved with her children's schools, their academic efforts, as well as their extra-curriculum activities. Annie did not let any grass grow under feet. She loved school and for many years she always wanted to finish. With the support of another one of Charles County's finest teachers, the late Edna Middleton, Annie attended the Charles County Adult Education Program, taking several classes, to pick up where she left off in eighth grade. Annie accomplished her goal and received a Certificate of Completion. In the mid seventies, the Charles County Nursing Home opened. Annie attended the Open House and jokingly asked if she could get a job there and was told by a staff nurse, "there are a lot of people applying, but put in an application, you might get it." So she applied, and...she got it! Annie started working at the Nursing Home the following week in housekeeping and in a year or so, transferred to a nursing assistant, tending to patients. She worked there until June 1977 when she retired. After retiring, she worked here and there doing light domestic work for a couple of homes, the last one, being just around the corner from her residence. Annie also catered several weddings over the years. Her memberships include Annual September Picnic Coordinator, Eucharistic Minister, Ladies of Charity, and Holy Name Society since the early 1940's at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Issue, Maryland, life-time member of the Charles County Chapter National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American Association of Retired Persons since 1990, Bel Alton High School Alumni Association Board Member since 1998, and Past Booster Member of the Black Hawks Junior Drill Team of Newburg, Maryland. She received certificates of completion/graduation from the Charles County Adult Education Program and the Southern Maryland Spring 2010 Mini Medical School. She received certificates and awards from the Pee Wee Wedding and Bel Alton School Building Fund Volunteer and the Charles County Nursing Rehabilitation Center Volunteer (2003-2012). She received special recognition for her written contribution to the Pathways to History, a book that depicts 350 years of Charles County's history. Her hobbies include traveling, sewing, ceramics, cooking, canning, jigsaw and word-find puzzles, watching court and game shows, Walker Texas Ranger, and NCIS. She also enjoyed line dancing. Friends received on Thursday, May 26, 2016 from 10AM until Mass of Christian Burial at 12PM at Holy Ghost Issue Catholic Church, 15848 Rock Point Road, Newburg, Maryland 20664. Interment in the church cemetery.

Annie Cecelia Smothers

November 6, 1924 - May 14, 2016