Smith, Willie Mae Ford
(1904–1994)
Smith, Willie Mae Ford (June 23, 1904, Rolling Rock, MS; February 2, 1994, St. Louis, MO) An anointed soloist, passionate evangelist and renowned teacher, Willie Mae Ford Smith was the seventh of fourteen children to the union of Clarence and Mary Williams Ford . Clarence, a railroad brakeman, sought better opportunities and moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee, where Willie Mae spent her childhood. In 1917, the Fords moved to St. Louis, Missouri. At the encouragement of their father, a…