The funeral service for Evelyn Smith Wood, age 101 of Lineville, will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at Benefield Funeral Home in Lineville with Pastor Mark Pettus officiating. Burial will follow in the Lineville City Cemetery.
Mrs. Wood passed away peacefully at her home on March 10, 2019. She was born on March 23, 1917, in Lineville, Alabama, to Earl Grady and Grace Smith. After graduating from Lineville High school, she attended and graduated from Jacksonville State University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Education, and also earned a Master’s Degree of Education from Auburn University. Mrs. Wood was a lifelong resident of Lineville and was a beloved elementary school teacher in Clay County for 29 years. Mrs. Wood was an avid Auburn football fan, she enjoyed cooking for her family, traveling, and walking around the town of Lineville for exercise. She belonged to the Inter Se Club and Delta Kappa Gamma. Mrs. Wood was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lineville for 89 years and taught Sunday school there for 50 years. In her later years, she became a member of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, where her grandson serves as a pastor.
She is survived by her son: Michael L. Pettus (Jane Duke Pettus) of Pyriton, Alabama; four grandchildren: Michelle Pettus Van Deusen (Anthony) of Huntsville, Mark Pettus (Jill) of Birmingham, Lauren Pettus Prensner (Jon) of Birmingham, and Steven Pettus (Jackie) of Katmandu, Nepal, and 12 great grandchildren.
Mrs. Wood was preceded in death by her parents: Earl Grady (E.G.) and Grace McCain Smith; former husbands: Adolphus L. Pettus and Robert W. Wood; one sister, Virginia Smith Coleman, one brother, Robert Smith and by her son, Robert O. Pettus.
Mark Griffin, Wesley Coleman, Ryan Coleman, David Proctor, Anthony Van Deusen, Jon Prensner, and Billy Coleman will serve as pallbearers.
The family will receive friends on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at Benefield Funeral Home in Lineville from 10:00 a.m. until service time at 11:00 a.m. The family requests no flowers; however memorial contributions may be made to the Clay County Animal Shelter: 43 Ratley Road Ashland, AL 36251 (256)-354-1453.
