Ann Smith Strickland

Birth Date: 10/29/1938
Deceased Date: 02/27/2025

Ann Smith Strickland, age 86, passed away peacefully to her eternal home with the Lord on Thursday February 27, 2025, at 4:30am at Duke Raleigh Hospital in Raleigh. She was born in Smithfield on October 29, 1938, to the late Clarence Douglas Smith and the late Ruth Hobbs Smith. In addition to her father and mother, she is also preceded in death by her sisters, Wynona Taylor and Faye Olson.

The family will receive visitors at First Baptist Church Smithfield on Saturday March 8, 2025, from 1pm to 2pm in the fellowship hall. A funeral service will be conducted in the main sanctuary at 2pm. Burial will follow the service in Sunset Memorial Park in Smithfield.

She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Jim Strickland; her children: Jennifer, James (and wife, Lori), Doug (and wife, Karen) and Jason; her grandchildren: Sam, Harper, Ty and Page; and her sisters: Margaret and Becky.

Ann was a devoted and loving wife, mother and grandmother. Her family and friends cherished her, as she did them. Ann met her husband, Jim, at 16 years of age. They married at age 19 and were together for 67 years until her death. Ann was gregarious, intelligent, caring, loved life, and was a devoted Christian. She was a cheerleader at Smithfield High School while her future husband was a basketball player at rival Selma High School. She modeled in New York City and worked as an administrative assistant for Dupont in the Empire State Building for a time. After having children, Ann devoted herself to being a wonderful wife, mother, and homemaker. She loved music and singing solos, duets, and singing with the choir at her church for many years in praise and honor of the Lord. She had a beautiful voice. She and Jim were faithful parents to their children, including Jason who has Down’s Syndrome and other health challenges. Their care and loyalty to Jason, despite all his challenges, was a great witness and testimony to others, although they would say they were just loving their son. Ann was such a tremendous example of a loving, Christian mother, and her children are forever grateful for that. Ann loved being a grandmother in her later years and was affectionately known as Nannie to her grandchildren. She and Jim were members at Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh for many years where they loved the people and loved worshiping Jesus.

Ann loved her sisters dearly. She was one of five sisters. Family gatherings at her parents’ home in Smithfield were happy, love-filled times. There was always delicious food, funny stories, singing around the piano or songs accompanied by guitar. Ann was always at the center of the fun and loved these times together.

Flowers may be ordered at The Town Florist in Princeton at 919-634-9845. In lieu of flowers, donations to Bay Leaf Baptist Church may be sent to 12200 Bayleaf Church Road, Raleigh, NC 27614, or donations to the NC Down Syndrome Alliance can be made at www.ncdsalliance.org.

Online condolences can be expressed at Parrishfh.com