June Smith

June Lanning Smith, age 93, of Bryant passed away on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Persimmon Ridge Healthcare in Portland. 

She was born to Woodrow Merle and Edith Pearl (Brown) Bertram on Dec. 12, 1931, in Cartwright, Kentucky. In 1934, Alonzo Lanning married Edith and adopted June. She went by his surname the rest of her life. 

She was married to Coba L. Smith of Boatland, Tennessee, in May 1952 and he passed away on May 4, 2003. 

June graduated from Portland High School in 1949 and she was quite proud of the fact that she ranked fourth in her senior class for academics. She worked for United Telephone from 1949 until her retirement in 1987. She was the district traffic supervisor in Portland for many years. June was a member of the Lenape Cherokee Tribe and carried the name “Drifting Snow.”

Survivors include daughter Bonita; two grandchildren, Ian and Jeni (Jeff); great-grandchildren Gehrig, Kallisto and Rysin; half-siblings Bob Vance, Larry Vance, Gayla Sue and Linda; as well as many cousins and extended family members.

June was preceded in death by her parents; adopted father; son Jonathan; half-siblings Mary Elizabeth and Harold Gordon; and stepsister Anna Christine.

Funeral services will be Monday, Oct, 6, at 11 a.m. in the Baird-Freeman Funeral Home with Fr. Marty Sandhage presiding. Burial will follow in the Green Park Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 10 to 11 a.m. 

Memorials can be made to the choice of the donor.

Condolences may be expressed at bairdfreeman.com.