Diana Lynn Fretwell Smith

Diana Lynn Fretwell Smith, age 66, a resident of Elberta, Alabama, met Jesus with open arms on Friday, May 30, 2025.

Diana was born in Pensacola, Florida, where she grew up in a loving home with her parents and sisters. She met her husband of nearly 47 years, Harvey Smith, Jr., first when they were only 6 years old and later at 18, and together they built a beautiful life.

Diana was a devoted wife, mother, Nanna, sister, and friend. She was known and adored by many. As a customer service representative in banking for nearly 30 years, she was beloved by the community and her customers, who often called her to share their lives.

Though she was small, she was feisty and always held her own; yet she much preferred peace and simplicity to extravagance. She valued family above all and prioritized taking care of those she loved. She enjoyed cooking and preparing dinner every night for her family for decades. She was selfless to a fault, always placing the needs of others above her own.

Diana treasured spending time with her five grandchildren, watching them in sports, playing in the driveway, listening to music, and lounging in the pool. She loved peaceful afternoons watching cardinals in the crepe myrtles around her home, which always reminded her of her parents. While her mother had a green thumb, Diana had a black thumb, but she still tried to help Harvey in the garden. She also loved her pets throughout the years, most recently Sophie, her Pomeranian who spent nearly 8 years attached to her hip, and Trigger, the family Boxer who loved Diana most.

Among her innumerable remarkable attributes, her strength was paramount. Diana could take a punch from life and still manage to keep going. She endured breast cancer and never once complained. She even elected to undergo endoscopy without sedation or anesthesia!

Diana had a strong faith and prayed often throughout the day, always going to her Lord in times of joy and in times of need. She was so encouraging, especially to her family, and quick to remind us of the truth of God’s love for us.

Preceding her in death are her parents, Bennie Lane Fretwell and Nelda Arline White Fretwell.

She is survived by her loving husband, Harvey Smith, Jr.; son, Brandon (Leigh) Smith of Elberta; daughter, Angela Smith of Robertsdale, Alabama; sisters, Sissy (Randy) Richardson of Pace, Florida, and Cindy Venable of Cantonment, Florida; grandchildren, Logan Giles, Briella Giles, Ariana Giles, Luke Smith and Hannah Smith; and many other loving relatives and friends who will continue to carry her memory forward.

Diana would want you to know that heaven is real and it is waiting. Read John 3:16 and accept Jesus as your Savior. That’s how you join her one day – for the Grand Reunion she so joyfully awaits!

Funeral services will be held at Foley Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 3:00 pm, with visitation beginning at 2:00 pm.

Interment will follow in Wynn Cemetery in Summerdale, Alabama.

ARRANGEMENTS BY
WOLFE-BAYVIEW
FUNERAL HOMES
& CREMATORY, INC.
2551 S. McKENZIE STREET
FOLEY, AL. 36535
(251) 943-2391
www.wolfefuneralhomes.com