Alice Smalling

Alice Colquitt Smalling, 87, died peacefully Wednesday May 22 at Wesley Woods Center in Atlanta. She had recently entered nursing care there after living for the last 10 years at John-Wesley Villas in Macon. Alice Otelia Colquitt was born in Spalding County on July 2, 1925, to Paul and Ethel Akin Colquitt and spent part of her childhood in Americus. She married Fred Abraham and they lived in Macon. He died when she was still in her thirties. She later reconnected with an old fried, Alfred W. Smalling, who was living in Los Angeles and was visiting family in Macon. They married in 1964 and lived in California until retiring to Barnesville where they became fixtures in the United Methodist Church and several civic organizations. Alice was a lifelong Methodist. She worked as a telephone switchboard operator and as a bookkeeper in Macon in her younger years. At home, she gardened and did crafts of all kinds. She had a creative mind and could see possibilities in almost any material. She and Alfred traveled extensively for several years, and she kept meticulous scrapbooks of their trips. She was devoted to her family and served as caretaker to her parents, aunts and uncles as they aged. She suffered a stroke followed by surgery in 2002. While she was recovering, her beloved husband Alfred died unexpectedly. She had to give up their home in Barnesville at that time. She had great faith and a great sense of humor which kept her upbeat during her years in assisted living. She often told her family that she had had a wonderful life with parents who loved her and two wonderful husbands. She said she prayed daily that if she could not be of help to someone that God would see that she didn't hurt anyone. She showed great grace in life and in death. She is survived by stepchildren Dr.Oliver (Stella) Smalling of Tucson, Az., Bonnie (Gary) Matheny of Athens, Ala., Rowena O'Linger of South Bend, Ind., and Al Smalling of Tampa, Fla. Her grandchildren are Mark (Maria) Smalling and Brad (Tracey) Smalling of Tucson, Az., Wanda (Darren) Mannahan of Huntsville, Ala., and Wendy Powers of Lewisville, Texas. Great-grandchildren are Cynthia, Mark, Brandon and Tyler Smalling, Michelle Vincent, Allen Powers, Chris and Charlie Smalling, Susan Robertson and Patty O'Linger, and great-grandchild Tyler Gavin. She is also survived by her aunts Ida Belle Akin English and Ethel Moore Colquitt and several cousins and other relatives. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home.





Funeral Home:
A.S. Turner
2773 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033