Julia Frances Gillions Smith
Julia Frances Gillions Smith of 156 Parrish Loop, Montross, Va., died on December 3, 2002.
She is survived by her husband of 61 years, John B. Smith; son, John W. and wife, Jean Smith of Falls Church, Va.; son-in-law, Charles Frew of Huntsville, Ala.; and four grandchildren, Julia Frickert of McLean, Va., Jessica Riddle of Fredericksburg, Va., Ryan and Janice Frew of Huntsville, Ala. She was predeceased by a daughter, Nancy Lee Smith Frew of Huntsville, Ala. Other family members include twin sister, Gladys Allen of Montross, Va.; sister, Marguerite Castle of Midlothian, Va.; brother, Walter Gillions of Heathsville, Va.; sister-in-law, Ethel Waters of Montross, Va.; and aunt, Thelma Riley of Callao, Va. She has many surviving cousins in the Northern Neck. Mrs. Smith’s civic and personal accomplishments are legion. She was a 27-year member of Nomini Baptist Church, where she served as Music Director, Sunday School teacher, organist, pianist and President of the Woman’s Missionary Union. She was President of the Rappahannock Baptist Association WMU for five years and filled various committee assignments with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. At the time of her death, she was serving as Chaplain of Chantilly Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Committee Member with the Republication Party of Westmoreland County, and Information Systems Staff Officer for Flotilla 3-10 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. In the Coast Guard Auxiliary she was also a qualified Boat Crewmember and Instructor in Boating Safety. For 15 years she was a volunteer with Hospice Support Services of the Northern Neck. In her long and productive life, she accompanied her husband during 33 years of Air Force service in Japan, Bermuda, South Africa, Washington, D.C. and numerous other locations in the U.S. She spoke some Japanese and Spanish and was fluent in Afrikaans. While in South Africa she was the only American woman to be inducted into the Pretoria Woman’s Club, where Afrikaans was the dominant language. She received many commendations from the Air Force and Coast Guard Auxiliary for her actions in furthering the goals of those organizations.
A memorial service will be held at Nomini Baptist Church on Sunday, December 15, 2002 at 3 p.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be given to Nomini Baptist Church Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 186, Montross, Va. 22520; and/or to Hospice of Northern Virginia, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 501, Falls Church, Va. 22042.
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