Cordella S. (Burke) Smith

 Cordella Sue Smith, 67, of Sherwood, Ohio, left this world to see her loving Savior face-to-face on April 6, 2018, at home surrounded by her loving husband and daughters. 

She was born on November 27, 1950, to Elliot Ray and Belva (Duty) Burke in Varney, West Virginia. On July 5, 1968, she married Billy Joe Smith who survives. She is also survived by two children, Kelly (Drew) Gardner of Fort Wayne, IN, and Amanda (Dale) McDorman of Antwerp, OH; 13 grandchildren, Seth, Noah, Isaiah, Elijah, Grace, Zechariah, Mercy, Hope, Peace, and Micaiah Gardner and Faith, Luke, and Jordan McDorman; her mother; and two sisters, Jean (Kelly) Roberts and Raycene (Bill) Rice.

She is preceded in death by her father and her brother, Larry Burke.

Cordella had the unique ability to make everyone she knew or came into contact with feel special, valued, and loved. She was passionate about life. Family was everything to her and her 13 “babies” were her pride and joy. She loved to eat out; shop with her mother, daughters, sisters, and “Club” girls; decorate everything; make jewelry and crafts, and spend time with Bill and their friends at Sunny’s Campground in Wauseon, OH. 

She maintained a great testimony throughout a two-plus year battle with pancreatic cancer and brought many closer to the Lord through her faithful witness and lifestyle and her compassion and concern for people. She was a loyal Cincinnati Reds fan who stuck by her team through thick and thin. 

Cordella was a graduate of Logan High School, Logan, West Virginia, in 1968. She worked in various positions, including 911 Dispatcher, Ohio State Highway Patrol Dispatcher, Defiance County Driver’s License Examiner, and victim’s advocate at Sarah’s House, before retiring in 2014. She also put her decorating skills to use in her own wedding business, Cordi-nates.

She was formerly a member of Second Baptist Church, Defiance, and Emmanuel Baptist Church, Paulding, Ohio.

While our hearts are broken for the time we will be without her, we rejoice for what she has gained. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, from 4:00-8:00pm and funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Thursday, April 12, 2018, at the Schaffer Funeral Home, Defiance, Ohio with Drew Gardner officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Memory Gardens. 

Memorials are suggested to Sarah’s House or CHP Defiance Hospice.

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