Averil Diana Smith was born to Viola Louise Derrick and Stanley Franklin on March 28, 1939, in her grandmother, Rose Gitten’s house, “Hutchville,” in St. Michael, Barbados, West Indies.  She spent her early years in Barbados, raised by Grandmother Rose and her Godmother, Ruth Holder.  She lived between “Hutchville” and Ruth’s house, “Beulah”—in Barbados, homeowners always named their homes—where she was surrounded by strong, single women.  At age 9, she passed the entrance exam and was admitted to St. Giles Girls School, which happened to be across the street from “Beulah.”  Later, after taking the entrance exam for Queens College, she learned of her acceptance in The Barbados Advocate.  She enjoyed school, because “it was the only way to socialize.”

Upon her grandmother’s death, the Elders agreed that she should join her mother, who had returned to Brooklyn, NY after she was born.  Diana arrived in Brooklyn on October 26, 1956.  She was 16 and had not seen her mother since she was 9.  By then, her mother was married to Louis Sealy.  Her first impression of Brooklyn was, “congestion”—homes “strung together in a monotonous chain of brown, brick facades,” with locks, gates, and keys for the doors.  She wondered, “Why would any sane person want to or choose to live in such a country—this is the Land of Milk and Honey?  This is America?”  Once in NYC, she had to return to school to get an American diploma.  She graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School in Queens and was accepted at King’s County Hospital School of Nursing.

She was living in a dorm at King’s County, when she met Bill Smith.  His sisters, Margaret and Doris, were nursing students at King’s County; Margaret in the same class, and Doris in the class ahead of them.  Bill was still in the Marines at that time.  Diana was working as a Pediatric Nurse at King’s County, when she became pregnant with Bryant in 1963.  Bill and Diana were married on August 4, 1963, and they moved in with his parents at 16 Pine Road, North Amityville until they moved into their first home at 18 Poplar Road.  Bryant A. Smith (now Muhammad) was born, November 1, 1963.  Sharon Smith (now Aminah Okantah) was born, February 2, 1966.  The family moved to the Cleveland area in 1979, first at 3542 Townley Road, and then at 16619 Aldersyde Drive, Shaker Heights.  The move was difficult, especially for young Bryant and Sharon, but it also presented the opportunity for “a better life for everyone.”

As a practicing Nurse, Diana touched the lives of many people.  She worked at Brunswick General Hospital, Amityville; King’s County Hospital, Brooklyn; Copiaque Schools District; University Hospitals Health System, Cleveland; Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland and the Metro Health Clement Center for Family Care, Cleveland.  She was respected and beloved in the Cleveland Community and she was a true guardian angel/role model/surrogate mother to the Black med students at the CWRU School of Medicine.  She was extremely proud and gratified when she became “one of the few minority faculty at Case.” She felt that “educating medical students” … [was] “the most important contribution that I have made to influence the lives of young people and I will be forever grateful to Susan Wentz for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to join her team.”

After her divorce, Diana lived the rest of her life as a strong, single woman, like the women who raised her.  She loved good food, good music, her collection of dolls & cups, going to the theatre, Caribbean & African art, wearing African clothing, giving gifts and traveling.  Most of all, she loved her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her best friend, Caswell Alleyne.  She is survived by her former husband, Bill Smith.  Her children, Bryant Muhammad, and Aminah Okantah; daughter-in-law, Yvonne Daugherty; son-in-law, Mwatabu Okantah and grandsons-in-law, Eric Edwards & Mark Cooley.  Her grandchildren: Cristen, Ahmad, Jamila, Afrikiti, Ile-Ife, Sowande & Berhane and great grandchildren: AJ, Ezra, Tristan & Kenton; and close friend, Renee Jackson.

Averil Diana Smith walked her path through this world with dignity, with genuine love and kindness.  She blessed us with her Gift of Life.  We will all miss her.  She will be with us in our hearts and in our memories forever.  She has joined the Angels.  She is at peace.  She and Caswell are together again, smiling, and watching over us from the House of the Ancestors.