Resident Spotlight – July 2025

Our Resident Spotlight shines on Barbara Smith for July. Ms. Barbara is from Villa Rica and grew up with 2 brothers. As a young girl, Barbara learned to sew, cook, and garden. She hated gardening and made it a point to never work in the yard. She graduated from Sylvan High School, where she enjoyed the art classes the most. Her first job was working for Central Truck Lines.

Ms. Barbara has 2 children, a daughter, Debra, and a son, Barry, who passed away in 2001 from skin cancer. Debra gave Ms. Barbara 2 granddaughters, Sara and Kimberly. There was a time when Barbara dated Max Clelland after being commissioned to do a painting for him. The story goes that Barbara was pushing Max’s wheelchair when she tripped, which left Max rolling downhill. Barbara yelled after him, “You’re on your own!” Max was fine, and they both had a good laugh about it.

When Barbara went to work for the Department of Labor she met her 3rd husband, Butch, who she was married to for 25 years. Ms. Barbara’s brothers loved to play tricks on her and her brother, Jerry, put a dead bird in the car on Barbara and Butch’s first date.

With her sewing skills, Barbara made all the family’s clothes, everything from leisure suits for her husband and son to dresses for her daughter and herself, as well as costumes for school plays. One year at the county fair, Barbara bought an upholstery machine, which led to her recovering all their furniture, so it lasted many more years.

Ms. Barbara has always loved arts and crafts. She is a self-taught painter after watching Bob Ross, and then sold her paintings at craft shows, and would also get requests to paint particular scenes or people. Then there are the macrame purses and hanging shelves that Barbara learned to make, too. Besides painting and macrame, Barbara loved to make “Olde World Santas,” where she sewed the clothes, made the faces from modeling clay, painted them, used wool dusters for the beards, and then sold them at the craft shows.

Back in the 1980s, Barbara and a friend took belly dancing classes at the YMCA. Barbara loved it so much that she did professional belly dancing at the American Legion. Debra, Barbara’s daughter, says she remembers her mom baking the little finger cymbals to keep them in tune. Barbara also loves country music, reading fiction and horror stories, and soap operas. Her daughter remembers having to go outside and play during soap opera times as well as getting her love of horror stories from her mom.

During Covid, Barbara’s husband Butch was hospitalized for 5 months. Butch has a sister in Montana that moved Barbara and Butch to Montana to be able to help care for them. There were lots of horses, pigs, and chickens, and they would take rides on a 3 wheeled motorcycle around the property.

Since moving to Woodland Ridge, Barbara enjoys the music activities, the pet visits, painting and craft classes, the lunch outings, and other trips. Barbara is always friendly to everyone and a joy to be around.

We love that she decided to call Woodland Ridge her home.

If you or an aging loved one is considering moving to an Assisted Living Facility for Elder Care Services in Smyrna, GA, please get in touch with the caring staff at Woodland Ridge today. 770-431-7055

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