Teresa Jane Hand Smith, 45, of Metairie, Louisiana, formerly of Tifton, passed away Monday, March 22, 2004, of brain cancer at her residence. Her funeral service was held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 25, 2004, at Tifton's First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Jim Nalls and the Rev. Joe Sims officiating. Mrs. Smith was laid to rest at Tift Memorial Gardens.
Scott Whitaker, David Whitaker, Frank Whitaker, Tommy Whitaker, J. R. Smith and Charles Hands, Jr. served as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers were John Sims, Mike Sims, Fred McGinty, Warren McGinty and Emory Edwards.
Born August 11, 1958, in Tifton, Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Charles Hand of Massachusetts, Joe T. Whitaker, Jr. of Havana, Florida and the late Sophronia Underwood Hand Whitaker. She was also preceded in death by her grandparents, Milton and Claudia Underwood, James H. Hand, Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Talley Whitaker.
A graduate of Tiftarea Academy, Abrahm Baldwin College, Auburn University and Georgia Southwestern, Mrs. Smith was a member of Pi Beta Phi National Fraternity. She had lived in Metairie, Louisiana for 17 years and was vice president of Oak Ridge Park, Inc. she was a member of Munhollhand United Methodist Church in Metairie, Louisiana.
Mrs. Smith is survived by her husband, James T. Smith, III of Metairie, Louisiana; five brothers, Scott Whitaker, David Whitaker, Frank Whitaker, Tommy Whitaker and Charles Hand, Jr.; three sisters, Aimee Whitaker Hornsby, Jim Hand Allen and Mary Elsie Whitaker; her grandmother, Mary Jo Hand of Destin, Florida; her aunts, Frances L. McGinty of Tifton, Edna Sims of Hernando, Florida and Ruth Hand Hobbs of Atlanta; and a cousin, Ruth Hubbard of Signal Mountain, Tennessee.
Memorial gifts may be made to the American Cancer Society, Tifton Unit, P. O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73102; or Tifton's First United Methodist Church, 107 12th Street West, Tifton, GA 31794.