Juanita Vaughn Smith Windell

Fort Mill, SC - Juanita Vaughn Smith Windell was born at her grandparents home on Highway 160 in Mecklenburg County on October 26th, 1928.  She passed away on November 23, 2022 at her home on Highway 160 in York County,  one mile from her birthplace.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at Whitesell Funeral Home, 975 Riverview Road, Rock Hill, SC 29730.  The funeral service will be at 1:00 PM on Friday, December 2, 2022 at First Baptist Church of Fort Mill, 121 Monroe White Street, Fort Mill, SC 29715 and a graveside service will follow at Flint Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, 269 Flint Hill Road, Fort Mill, SC 29715.

Juanita was the daughter of David Epps Smith and Anna Gerick Smith. She was the second of three children. She graduated from Berryhill High in 1947. In 1948 she married William H Windell, Sr. She was a member at First Baptist Church of Fort Mill for 74 years. She was preceded in death by William H Windell, Sr, her daughter, Benita W Patterson, her son, William H Windell, Jr, her daughter-in-law, Rhonda S. Windell, her brother, Kenneth H Smith and daughter, Anna Laura Windell (still-born).

Juanita attended grammar grades at Midwood & Oakhurst schools & was President of the Beta Club her junior year at Berryhill High. She did not attend Berryhill her senior year because she had already completed the required curriculum. Instead, she began working at Union National Bank & attended the American Institute of Banking at night for 1 year.

Juanita’s years before motherhood were spent working at Union National Bank in Charlotte, South Eastern Factors of Charlotte, along with sewing for others from her home. She was an excellent seamstress displaying precision & perfection with every garment that she created. She made several wedding gowns including her sister’s, Emily S. Sutton, neighbor’s, Joyce H. White, and another woman’s along with her complete bridal trousseau. She made her daughters clothing along with her own & on one occasion made 6 shift style dresses in one day.

Juanita became a Christian on Easter Sunday, 4/17/38 & made her profess of faith after going forward to the hymn “I Surrender All”. She moved her membership to First Baptist of Fort Mill 10 years later. The first woman to befriend her was Amelia “Tootie” Graham, who became a life long friend. She was an active member at FBCFM in multiple ministries. She worked with Sunbeams, then GA’s, followed by Acteens. She also taught a 9 year old boys SS class until a male teacher was available then she taught 12 year old girls for many years. She was a member of WMU for 55+ years which included being leader of the Priscilla Group for 40+ years. In the summer she helped with VBS for 11+ years & would also chauffeur other children to church activities year round. She was a member of the Pearl Smith SS class for many years until the class disbanded in 2021 & she also became homebound.

Juanita was the mother of three, grandmother of 2, & great grandmother of 4. As the matriarch of this clan she shared her faith & knowledge of Jesus & brought her children & grandchildren with her to church which was instrumental in each making their profession of faith at early ages. She dearly loved children & had a heart for helping those less fortunate. In the last weeks of her life she had asked, “ Where is my baby?” to which was asked “Which baby?” & she replied, “The baby that no one else wants.”

After becoming a mother, she decided to become a homemaker & wear all the hats of motherhood; cook, maid, nurse, teacher, chauffeur, disciplinary, etc. In addition, she raised a garden every summer freezing or canning the food needed until the next summer along with bookkeeping / management for Windell’s Rental Properties and maintaining a well organized & spotless home until her latter years.

She was a woman of many talents & skills which are becoming  a lost art in today’s busy world. Besides sewing, she was a superb country cook learning to bake biscuits, cakes, & pies from scratch in a wood burning stove at the age of nine. As an adult, she made at least one homemade cake every week. Linda was notorious for asking “What’s for dessert?” instead of what was for dinner. After her children left home, she would prepare the whole meal for Easter, Thanksgiving, & Christmas & have her entire family in to celebrate making each holiday special & festive. Furthermore, she was well versed in the ways of freezing & canning vegetables & wild fruits produced on the farm. Once she canned 35 pints of pear & fig preserves in the morning & was at the church by 5:00 pm for Wed. night meal / prayer meeting. Her specialties were fig & pear preserves, dewberry, wild plum, grape, apple jelly, & 3-day sweet pickles. Moreover, she was a whizz at cutting corn off the cob sitting on the back stoop; two zips up the cob then one scrape down as she circled the cob. She would also crack, peel, & grate a whole coconut to make a fresh homemade coconut cake for Christmas. She hand-shelled hundred of pounds of pecans during her lifetime making the best southern pecan pie ever.

Farm life was part of her heritage from birth to death. As a farmer’s wife, they had chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, goats, an a pony. One of her animal tales was about a piglet. The sow had more piglets than teats so Bill rigged a wooden box on the back porch to hold a bottle where the piglet stayed & became a pet. After the piglet got older he would follow Bill to the pen to feed the other pigs, but return to the back porch & his special box. He did not realize that he was a pig. Bill became so attached to the piglet that he could not bear to sell him. So Juanita was to sell the now pig while he was working out of town. She hated to sell him, but she did.

In the early 70s, Juanita began Square Dancing with her husband, Bill, & later she added Round & Line to her dance routine which she continued for 30+ years. This hobby opened up a world of traveling to National Square Dance conventions in which they participated. She was a member of Metrolina Dancers in Charlotte, Sardis Stars in Charlotte, & Palmetto Promenaders in Rock Hill & would dance 3 to 5 nights / week. She also made all her square dance dresses & some accessories for Bill’s dance attire.

Juanita is survived by her daughter, Linda Carol Windell, her grandsons, Joshua Owen Patterson (Terra), William Ashley Patterson (Julie), great grandchildren, Grady Owen Patterson, William Thomas Patterson, Catherine Hazel Patterson, Lucas Windell Patterson and her sister, Emily Marie Sutton.

Donations may be made in her honor to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, the Connie Maxwell Children’s House or A Kid Again Foundation in place of flowers.

Whitesell Funeral Home is serving the Windell family.