The History of a 

Grace Church Family

By Gene F. Smith

On June 21, 1903, less than three years after the 1900 Storm, a young woman with a seven-year-old daughter was confirmed in Grace Church by Bishop Kinsolving, then Bishop of the Diocese of Texas.  Thus began a family relationship with Grace Church that has lasted 103 years,

The mother was Lizzie Benson and her daughter was Alice Benson, the grandmother and mother of present Grace Church member Gene F. Smith and his brothers, Benson V. Smith, Raymond S. Smith, John C. Smith and sister, Mary Alice Barnes.  The entire family was active in Grace throughout the 20th century.  On a Sunday evening, November 17, the 25th anniversary of the

consecration of our present church, Alice Benson and Vernon Smith were married by the Rev. Arthur Marshall.  It was a family joke that marrying on a Sunday evening eliminated buying flowers because the Sunday altar flowers served very well.  In 1920 money was scarce.

During the 1920’s and 1930’s, all five children were born and baptized in Grace.  During the lean depression years, the children attended Sunday school and always looked forward to the annual Christmas party when they would receive an apple or an orange or a few pieces of candy.  These were troubled times when the father was out of work.

During the 1930’s and ‘40’s all of the boys served as acolytes while attending Sunday school and the daughter and her mother taught Sunday school and sang in the choir.  All were confirmed in this period.  Their father always participated in the annual church carnival and made repairs to the property as needed.  All five children graduated from Ball High School and the two oldest boys served in WW II, in Germany and North Africa.  The eldest, Benson, was stationed in Casablanca before Humphrey Bogart arrived!

Mary Alice and Gene were both married in Grace with services performed by the Rev. Ted DeForest and the Rev. Gerald Johnston.  The father died in 1951 and the mother in 1968 and their burial services were held at Grace.  For the Smith family, Grace Church was their home as much as their residence at the corner of 40th and Ave. M ½.  All family members can truly say that they were fortunate and blessed to have been raised in Grace Church and to have been given the high privilege of worshipping in such a beautiful church.  Alice and Vernon Smith set an example for their children by attending church regularly and being involved in church activities, especially during the formative early teen years.  For those children, attending Grace Church was always the proper thing to do and it became a way of life.

Be careful where you get confirmed as your heirs may still be attending church there 103 years later!