Florence Elder Smith

FLORENCE ELDER SMITH, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, passed into heaven on November 28, 2022. She was 97 years old. Florence was born in Little Rock on January 7, 1925, to John and Beulah Elder. She graduated from Little Rock High School. A devoted mother and devout Christian, she raised her daughter Rebecca in the historic Central High neighborhood, witnessing history firsthand unfold in their backyard. She worked as an administrative secretary at the Arkansas Employment Division, with her fellow lady employees sporting mile-high beehive hairdos and retired from that job in 1984 after a major car accident. She only came through stronger and spent the next decades doting on her grandkids and eventually great-grandkids. She was an active member of Immanuel Baptist Church and alongside her daughter, a founding volunteer of the Clinton Presidential Library. Her last years were spent at Good Shepherd nursing home with excellent care by staff and caregivers, and by her loving daughter Rebecca and son-in-law Dennis. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Joe Elder. She is survived by daughter Rebecca Ouellette (Dennis), three grandchildren, Laura Kolb (James), Phillip Ouellette (Emi), Mary Flo Ouellette (Adam), great-grandchildren Ashley, Matthew, Roland, Roxanne and Oscar, and great-great-grandson Jordan, and many, many cousins whom she loved dearly. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Ruebel Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at noon with a service at 1 p.m. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com