Taunce Vernitha Ida Smith, 84, of Fernandina Beach passed away Monday, September 23, 2019 at Terrace of Jacksonville Healthcare.

Born in Douglas, Georgia she was daughter of the late Ernest and Pauline Underwood Gillis. She grew up in Georgia and lived there until she moved to Fernandina Beach with her husband, John A. Smith, Jr., in 1952 for his job at Container Corporation of America.

A homemaker, she loved working in her yard and was a former member of Springhill Baptist Church. Over the years she also enjoyed playing the guitar and singing bluegrass music. She preformed locally and at festivals, including at Twin Oaks in Hoboken, Georgia.

She was predeceased by her husband in 2001 and as well as her three brothers, Pert Gillis, James Gillis and Harvely Gillis.

She leaves behind her sons, James R. and Ernest L. Smith, both of Fernandina Beach, her daughter, Linda Heberlie of Farmington, Missouri; her brothers, Ray Gillis of Decatur, Georgia and E. L. Meeks of Douglas, Georgia; five grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 11:00 AM in the Burgess Chapel of Oxley-Heard Funeral Directors with Chaplain Jackie Hayes officiating. The family will receive friends from 10:00AM until the hour of the service.

She will be laid to rest beside her husband at Hughes Cemetery at a later date.