Janie L. Smalls

Janie L. Smalls “Dale” was born February 7, 1926, to the beloved daughter of the late Lawton and Amy Staley Bonnett in Springfield, South Carolina.   She entered eternal rest on Thursday, January 26, 2023.

Janie was educated in the public school systems of Orangeburg and Barnwell County School Districts. She married Herbert Smalls, Sr. in November of 1945 and from this union, the Lord blessed them with twelve (12) children.

She attended Samaria Baptist Church as a child and after moving to Columbia, SC as an adult, she then joined St. James AME Church in the Wheeler Hill community. After moving out of the Wheeler Hill community, she then joined Forest Drive Baptist Church now NorthStar Christian Center where she was a dedicated and faithful member until she went home to be with the Lord.

She had a hospitable spirit and always went out of her way to make others feel loved and welcomed in her home and in her life. She loved to cook for family and friends, enjoyed quilting, loved tending to plants and the yard, and is responsible for all the kids in the family loving “fatback”. She will be remembered for her resilient spirit and her infectious laugh.

In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death  by  her husband, Herbert Smalls, Sr.; son, Herbert Smalls, Jr.; daughter, Darlene Bolton; son, Robert Smalls; daughter, Shirley Karriem; daughter, Sarah Anderson; and her son, Lester Smalls.

Janie  is lovingly survived by six children, Janie Mae Smalls of Columbia, SC; Ernest (Renee) Smalls of Virginia; Melvin (Denise) Smalls of Columbia, SC; Gary (Rita) Smalls of Japan; Brenda (Stanford) Bradley of Columbia, SC; and Darrin Smalls

of Spartanburg, SC; thirty-seven (37) grandchildren; thirty-nine (39) great-grandchildren; and eleven (11) great-great-grandchildren; one surviving nephew, Willie Lee Stroman, Sr., of Springfield, SC; and a host of extended family and dear friends left to cherish her memory.

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