Eva Mae Smoke Wells

Eva Mae Smoke Wells, age 96, died Friday, March 12th, 2021. She was born on Smoke Ridge in Magnet Cove Arkansas, January 22, 1925.

Her parents were Rubin Cline Smoke and Ella Jean Langley Smoke.
She married Rube Frederick Wells December 21, 1940, and they were together until his death in 1987.

Survivors are children, Michael Wells (Verna), Joyce Dyer (Milton), Nancy Mckennon (Bill),all of Magnet Cove and Jean Card (Jim) of Knoxville, Tennessee. She also leaves a sister, Pat Veazy, and two brothers, Kelly Smoke (Sandy) and Warren Smoke (Susan). Five grandchildren, fourteen great grandchildren, and seven great great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a daughter, Ruby Jean, a granddaughter, Nina Frazier, a sister, Hazel Nolen and a brother D. W. Smoke and her parents.
She was a licensed LPN and worked at various hospitals and nursing facilities during her career.

In her lifetime she picked cotton, lived through the Depression and four wars, ironed with a sad iron on a homemade ironing board, washed clothes in a black kettle in the yard, stripped soghram to make syrup, picked wild berries to can, raised chickens and pigs, dug potatoes and canned tons of fruits and vegetables.

At an early age she learned about gardening from her father, who was a truck farmer. She always had a big garden and gave away much of the produce.
She also loved to grow flowers and provided bouquets for her church. The exception was wisteria, which she fought for fifty years. For a few years she grew test roses for Jackson Perkins.

She liked to fish and camp, hunt rocks, bake, make jelly, sew quilts, work on genealogy, and travel. She always had a book handy. We cannot estimate how many thousands of books she read in her lifetime.

She taught her children to work and if you do a job, do it well.

She joined Magnet Cove Baptist Church at an early age and was the oldest member.

Funeral services will be Monday, March 15th at 10 o'clock at Magnet Cove Missionary Baptist Church with Brother David Carroll officiating.

Graveside services will follow at Magnet Cove Cemetery.

Pallbearers are Damon Dyer, Jeff Frazier, Zach Dyer, Charlie Ross, Roy Sulton and Robert Fulton.

All condolences and tributes can be made at www. atkinsonfuneral.net.
Arrangements are entrusted to Atkinson Funeral Home of Malvern.