Elsie Smith Banks

Elsie Smith Banks, 91, of Westover Drive, died Tuesday, March 13, 2012, at her home. The funeral will be 11 a.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012, at First Baptist Church, where she was a member, with the Rev. Dr. Ray Howell 3rd and Rev. Tommy Wilson officiating. The family will receive friends following the service and other times at 212 Westover Drive. The burial will be private. Mrs. Banks was born April 29, 1920, in Wake County to Edward Marcus Smith Sr. and Flonnie Cope Smith. She was raised in the Junior Order Home in Lexington. At her church she was a member of the Sr. Adult Choir and Sr. Adult ministries and was active in their group trips. Mrs. Banks retired from First Baptist Daycare. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Lance Banks Sr.; son, Edward L. “Eddie” Banks Jr.; and brothers, Eddie Smith Sr. and Edward Marcus Smith Jr. Surviving are her daughter, Jo Ellen Edwards and her husband, Willie, of Lexington; and brother, Boots Smith of Greensboro; sister-in-law, Minnie Banks; nieces Lynda Smith Swann and husband, Michael, Brenda Banks Barton and husband, Jimmy, Patricia Banks Browder and husband, Jim, Margaret Banks Padgett and husband, Glenn and Peggy Smith; nephews, Eddie Smith Jr. and wife, Jo, Ronnie Smith and wife, Susan, Steve Smith and wife, Kismet, and Greg Smith and wife, Cathy. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church Children’s Center, P.O. Box 436, Lexington, NC 27293; Wake Forest Baptist Health Cancer Center, Medical Center Blvd., Winston Salem, NC 27157 or American Children’s Home, P.O. Box 1288, Lexington, NC 27293.