Beatrice Louise (Smith) Warfield

Beatrice Louise (Smith) Warfield or “Bip” as she was affectionately called by family and friends, was born November 15, 1936 the fifth of eight children to the late Wilbur M. and Anise (Carson) Smith, in Springfield, Ohio. Beatrice was a lifelong resident of Springfield, Ohio. She grew up in a large, extended and loving family with her maternal grandparents and many aunts, uncles and cousins from both her mother and father’s sides. She was the second African-American cheerleader at Hayward Junior High School. She was a 1955 graduate of Springfield High School and was among the fist in her family to graduate high school. She took classes at Wittenberg University after graduation from high school. She retired from Wright-Patterson AFB as a secretary in 1993 after 36 years of service. During her time at WrightPatterson, she was very active in the Federal Women’s Program and especially International Training in Communications (ITC, formerly Toastmistress) and won many local and regional speech contests. During retirement, she was the president of her neighborhood association and also won a national neighborhood volunteer award. One of her greatest loves was serving at her home church which her maternal grandparents helped found, the Catherine Street First Church of God, where she was a lifetime member. She served in many capacities at Catherine Street including church secretary, treasurer, Board secretary, and especially the devotions leader. She also enjoyed helping coordinate family reunion activities for both her and her husband’s families. Beatrice will be remembered for her beautiful ever ready smile, warmth, and her Christian faith. She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Camille and Sylvan Davis of Miamisburg, Ohio as well as sister, Dorothy Campbell of Cleveland, Ohio; brothers, Charles “Mike” Smith of Springfield, and Joseph (Ophal) Smith of Cleveland and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Madell “Oats” Warfield and an infant daughter, Carrie Beatrice, in addition to her parents and older siblings, Rosemary Smith, Patricia Fields, Wilbur “Sonny” Smith and Bernard Smith. The family of Beatrice S. Warfield would like to express with grateful appreciation the many acts of kindness during our loss. And while the saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child,” it also takes a village to care for our elderly. A special “thank you!” goes to Sister and Brother-in-Law, Carla and Larry Smith and cousin Gloria “Jeanie” Robinson for their extra special care for Bip during her years at Eaglewood. Another special “thanks” to Mother-in-Law, Eleanor Warfield, and Brother-in-Law, Lamar “Numpy” Warfield for their frequent visits with Bip at Eaglewood. 

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