Beloved wife of the late Wilbur "Bill" for 62 years. Loving mother of Ronald L. (Christine) Smedley Sr. Cherished grandmother of Ronald L. Smedley Jr., Matthew (Dana) Smedley and Rebecca (Matt) Smedley-Bulloch. Dear great-grandmother of Patrick, Tyler, Brian, Maxwell, Ben and Samantha.

How do you sum up a person's life when they have lived for over 95 years? Jessie Mae Leake's life was unexpected and amazing. The fourth child of Earl and Adeline Leake, Jessie wasn't supposed to live long. She was delivered two months early on December 16, 1920 and brought home from the hospital in Rochester, NY, surrounded with hot water bottles to keep her warm. But she survived and thrived with the care of her parents and her older sisters, Ethel and Tressa, and her older brother, Walter.

She grew up in Eldred, PA when her dad got a job there doing rural electrification. They bought a house on Edson Street- a place she spoke of often. She walked to school and as she got older, everywhere else around the hills and valleys of northeast PA. The family moved to the bustling town of Smethport where Jessie attended high school. She played basketball and was a good study, often being compared to her older sisters by the teachers. The boys were attracted to her, and she had some first dates, but as the boys found out that her dad was an officer, they backed off.

After graduating, Jessie moved to Buffalo, NY to go to a Catholic nursing school. The nuns were not easy on the new nurses, but Jessie managed to finish school and was sent to Sarah Fisher Home for orphans in Farmington Hills, MI. She worked there for several years caring for the younger children. It was at Sarah Fisher where she met Wilbur "Bill" Smedley. He worked at a machine shop in Farmington at the time and his buddy was dating one of Jessie's friends. He decided to go over to Sarah Fisher to meet some girls. It didn't take long for this farmer from Genesee County to realize what a catch Jessie was. He asked her to marry him in 1942, although the proposal wasn't exactly romantic, Jessie accepted. They were married in Eldred, PA on December 17, 1942.

Moving to a farm on Grand River and Halstead, the couple started their life together and were soon joined by their son, Ronald in April 1945. The first floor farmhouse apartment got small after that and they moved into a house on Oakland Street in Farmington. The family made many lifelong friends on that street. Jessie worked at the Five and Dime in downtown and at a department store as a clerk for a number of years. She was also a great homemaker and devoted mother. She became a Sunday School teacher at First United Methodist Church, was Ron's Boy Scout troop's leader, and was an avid gardener.

In 1953, the family moved to an old house on Shiawassee Road. Many people remember driving by this house, which was painted a deep red for decades (its grey siding now). Jessie did not want to move from Oakland Street, and walked around the block crying the first day. Her in-laws showed up the next day, suitcases in hand. Jessie took care of both of them in their remaining years. She also kept a tightly run house. With Bill's work and Ron's school, timing for meals, homework, and yard work had to be well planned.

The family traveled often, going out to California, to Montana, to the Oregon Coast, and back to Pennsylvania on a regular basis. When Ron entered the Army after a few years of college, they visited him in Georgia at Fort Benning. Jessie and Bill took vacations nearly every year, going to Maine, Cape Cod, upstate New York, out West several times, northern Michigan, and Europe. After Bill retired, they made trips to New Zealand and Australia, Hawaii, and Alaska. Their grandchildren, Ronald Jr., Matt, and Rebecca were the recipients of souvenirs of those trips. They took Ronald and Matt with them every summer to family reunions in Pennsylvania, where Jessie's sisters, brother, mother, and nieces and nephews would always roll out the red carpet for "Aunt Mae", as they called her. As her siblings passed, Jessie became the matriarch of the Leake-Smith-Wood families, and her nieces and nephews always treated her with the respect and love she showed everyone.

On Shiawassee Road, Jessie and Bill enjoyed retirement, and even took to maintaining their house for their grandsons in middle school and high school. They must have liked the comings and goings of boys at regular intervals, allowing the cross country team to go swimming in the pool, and having friends over. They maintained their friendships with neighbors, often having them over for a well-cooked meal on Sundays. Jessie was a great cook and baker, keeping to traditional midwest fare, and always making enough to have leftovers. Ronald and Matt's lunches were often overflowing brown bags, with two roast beef or tuna sandwiches on fresh baked bread. She made these every night before school.

As the grandchildren moved away for work and families, Jessie and Bill would hop in the Lincoln Town Car and head to see them, driving to Bloomington, IN, Greenville, MI, and Northern Virginia, sometimes with help when they got older. Jessie took over driving duties for Bill after he couldn't drive anymore. She managed that big car with style and ease.

Jessie continued to take care of the family and her husband, with help from her son, until Bill passed in 2005. After a short time, she decided to get a back porch put on the house, something she had always wanted. That porch became her favorite place to sit and read, have her coffee in the morning, and converse with friends and neighbors. Ron Sr. got her a cat, Cleopatra, so that she would always have company in the house. Jessie maintained a regular stream of visitors and family. Ron and Chris (daughter-in-law) would stop by every Sunday with a newspaper and donuts. "Grandma's house" became a destination for her great-grandsons: Patrick, Tyler, Brian, when they came from Virginia, and Maxwell and Ben on the weekends. With all those boys, it was a blessing that her grand-daughter added a great-granddaughter to the family, Samantha, now 2.

The last few years saw Jessie get an artificial hip, after falling and breaking it. She rehabbed like a champ and went home. Friends/neighbors and family helped her as much as possible, and with in-home care, she managed to stay in the house until 2014, when she moved to Sunrise of Northville. She didn't want to leave the house that she didn't want to move to so long ago. She would often respond when asked how she was doing, "Fair to middling". No fan of growing old, she would say she would rather be 14 again. She was well cared for and lived comfortably until the end.

She will be remembered for all she did for her family, friends, and just about anyone she would meet along the way of life. She was never one to bring attention to herself, but people couldn't help wanting to be around her. She was blessed to impact three generations of Smedley's and they were blessed for having her as part of their lives.

Funeral Service 10:00 a.m. Wednesday at Thayer-Rock Funeral Home in Downtown Farmington. Rev. Dr. Anthony R. Hood, Senior Pastor, and Rev. Carolyn Sue Wik of the First United Methodist Church of Farmington will officiate.

Interment will follow at Byron Cemetery in Byron, Michigan.

Memorials are suggested to the First United Methodist Church of Farmington Endowment Fund,
P.O. Box 38, Farmington, MI 48332-0038.