BOBBIE JEAN SMITH WAS BORN ON MARCH 18,1943 IN HAMMOND LOUISIANA TO THE LATE WILLIAM KIMBLE AND LORENA JENNINGS KIMBLE. SHE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO THE LATE LOUIS SMITH, JR. SEVEN CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THIS UNION.

SHORTLY AFTER MOVING TO NEW ORLEANS SHE CAME IN CONTACT WITH JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES AND SYMBOLIZED HER DEDICATION BY WATER BAPTISM IN 1972. SHE DEMONSTRATED HER LOVE AND ZEAL FOR JEHOVAH BY TELLING HER NEIGHBORS ABOUT JEHOVAH'S WONDERFUL PURPOSE OF TRANSFORMING THE EARTH INTO A PARADISE. SHE WAS PRIVILEGED TO BE USED BY JEHOVAH IN THIS MANNER AND LOVED IT SO MUCH THAT SHE EVEN SERVED AS A REGULAR PIONEER FOR A TIME.

IN 1989 SHE MOVED TO SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA. SHE DEVELOPED MANY ENDURING FRIENDSHIPS IN HER HOME CONGREGATION. THREE THINGS WERE ALWAYS CLOSE TO HER HEART, HER LOVE FOR JEHOVAH AND HIS PEOPLE, LOVE OF HER FAMILY & LOVE OF HER PATIENTS. BOBBIE WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED FOR HER AMAZING GENEROSITY AND HER EXUBERANT, INFECTIOUS LAUGHTER. IT WAS ALWAYS PURE JOY WHEN IN HER PRESENCE. BEHIND THAT LAUGHTER WAS A WOMAN OF STRENGTH, FIERCE INDEPENDENCE, TENACITY, AND INTELLIGENCE.

BOBBIE DIED MAY 3 AT 7:29AM. SHE DIED KNOWING THAT SHE WAS LOVED AND CHERISHED BY MANY. SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED THAT JEHOVAH WOULD REMEMBER HER. SHE LOVED THE SCRIPTURE AT ROMANS 14:8 " FOR IF WE LIVE, WE LIVE TO JEHOVAH, AND IF WE DIE, WE DIE TO JEHOVAH. SO BOTH IF WE LIVE AND IF WE DIE , WE BELONG TO JEHOVAH."

BOBBIE LEAVES TO CHERISH HER MEMORY THREE SONS: REGINALD KIMBLE, KEVIN SMITH, AND BYRON (NAKISHA) SMITH, ALL OF SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA. THREE DAUGHTERS: JACKIE JOHNSON OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, WANDA SMITH OF SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA, AND SCHILACY HALL (JOSEPH) OF CHARLOTTE NORTH CAROLINA. TWO BROTHERS: ERNEST KIMBLE (PATRICIA) OF LAPLACE LOUISIANA, AND CHARLES KIMBLE OF VINTON TEXAS, ELEVEN GRANDCHILDREN, EIGHT GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN AND A HOST OF NIECES AND NEPHEWS, MOST OF WHOM VIEWED HER AS THEIR FAVORITE AUNT. NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN ARE THE MANY ENDURING FRIENDSHIPS SHE HAS CULTIVATED OVER THE YEARS, ALL OF WHOM LOVE HER DEARLY.

SHE IS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY HER SON JEROME KIMBLE, THREE SISTERS; MARIE KIMBLE, DOROTHY SCOTT, AND ROSEMARY DUNN. FOUR BROTHERS: NEIL KIMBLE, LOUIS KIMBLE, THOMAS KIMBLE, AND LEON KIMBLE.

WE REST OUR HOPE IN THE FACT THAT JEHOVAH IS FAITHFUL, AS HEBREWS 6:10 SAYS, "FOR GOD IS NOT UNRIGHTEOUS SO AS TO FORGET YOUR WORK AND THE LOVE YOU SHOWED FOR HIS NAME BY MINISTERING AND CONTINUING TO MINISTER TO THE HOLY ONES." WE KNOW THAT SHE FELT AS VERSE 11 SAYS "BUT WE DESIRE EACH ONE OF YOU TO SHOW THE SAME INDUSTRIOUSNESS SO AS TO HAVE THE FULL ASSURANCE OF THE HOPE DOWN TO THE END." WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HER AND HEARING HER DISTINCT, INFECTIOUS LAUGHTER IN GOD'S NEW WORLD.