Sonya L. Allen Smith
03/13/1962 - 06/10/2021
Funeral service will be held 12noon EST, Friday, June 18, 2021 at Nichols Chapel A.M.E. Church, Dr. Isaac Hudson, pastor, officiating. Visitation will be held Thursday, June 17, 2021 from 1-5 p.m. EST.
Sonya Letitia Allen Smith was born March 13, 1962 in Columbus, Georgia to Rev. John Thomas Allen, Sr. and Carrie Ezekiel Allen.
She attended elementary school at Mother Mary Mission in Phenix City, Alabama. In 1980 she graduated from Pacelli High School in Columbus, Georgia. She continued her education at Tuskegee Institute and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1984.
At the age of twelve, Sonya accepted Christ and joined Nichols Chapel AME Church. She was a member of the Young People and Children’s Division (YPD) and sang in the Youth Choir. Sonya often reminisced about the beautiful experiences she had as a youth at Nichols. The YPD lock-ins, Vacation Bible School days, Sunday School picnics, and Christian Education Conferences were fond memories that she often shared with others. To Sonya, there was none greater than her beloved Nichols Chapel.
On December 28, 1985, married her childhood sweetheart, Rex Aundra Smith. As a military couple, Aundra and Sonya got the chance to travel and enjoy many places, making stops in Germany, South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia. Sonya never met a stranger, so she made many friends along the way. During their thirty-five years together, plenty of family memories were made during trips to the beach, the mountains and more.
Sonya was always known as a hard worker who strived to achieve her many goals. Sonya began working at an early age at Biff Burger in Phenix City, Alabama while in high school. After obtaining her degree she was employed as an Assistant Manager at K-Mart also in Phenix City. While being a devoted military wife she worked in Supply Administration, Accounting Analysis, and Reconciliation in Stuttgart, Germany. Sonya and Rex then relocated to Columbia, South Carolina Fort Jackson where she worked as a Purchasing Agent and Contract Specialist. She then became a Contract Manager for the Richland County Government. She devoted 19 years to John Deere where she retired as a Labor Relations Manager.
Sonya will be remembered as a kind, loving person who enjoyed blessing others. She was the life of the party who could always be counted on to bring laughter and fun. Sonya was also an excellent cook who enjoyed hosting parties for her family and friends. She believed her loved ones deserved the best, so every event was a major celebration that required the best food, the best china, and the best decorations. Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners were not complete until her homemade chocolate and homemade pound cakes made it to the table. Sonya is survived by her mother, Carrie Allen of Phenix City, Alabama; devoted husband, Rex Smith of Evans, Georgia; her two daughters Shayla and Alexis Smith of Atlanta, Georgia; two brothers, John Allen Jr. (Denise) of Hoover, Alabama, and Jeffrey Allen (Marlene) of Stockbridge, Georgia; two sisters, Kimberly Singleton (Joseph) of Birmingham, Alabama and Cheryl Allen of Phenix City, Alabama; Three uncles, Robert Ezekiel Jr. (Velerie) of Columbus, GA; JB Allen (Chun Ye) of Columbus, GA; Robert Allen (Mary) of Phenix City, AL; Three Aunts Dorothy Bass (James) of Phenix City, AL; Mamie D Arnold of Columbus, GA; Martha Moore of Columbus, GA; mother in-law, Gertrude Smith of Ft. Mitchell, Alabama; sister in-law Geraldine Birch (Wayne) of College Park, Georgia; brother in-law Jimmy Lee Smith Jr. (Dalphine) of Ft. Mitchell, Alabama; Four nieces, Ke’Andrea Smith, Elizabeth Singleton, Jimina Smith, and Sarah Singleton; Five nephews, Wayne Birch Jr, Chantz Birch, Joseph Singleton III, Jeffrey Allen II, and Jordon Allen along with a host of cousins and friends.
The love she shared, and the precious memories made will never be forgotten. Her family and friends find comfort in knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.