Velma Smith

Composer, performer, author, handwriting expert, bell collector ---- but, most of all, Mom! Velma was born March 19, 1910 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents, Byron and Annette Tripp, already had three little girls when Velma was born. Byron was a music teacher, pressman, and an inventor. He began building an airplane in 1904 and his plane, the Tripp Monoplane, became the first airplane to fly over Akron area in 1911. One of Velma's sisters rode in the plane on a test flight, when it flew about 50 feet, but Velma always said they would have to knock her out to get her on a plane. Annette died when Velma was 3 weeks old and Annette's sister, Bessie, and her husband, Oscar Eiler, raised Velma as their child. The rest of the family was sworn to secrecy and Velma didn't find out that she was adopted until she was 47 years old, when she applied for a Social Security card and needed to produce her birth certificate. She had thought her sisters were her cousins. Velma came from a musical family. Byron played trumpet solos with the Kick-a-Pooh Indian medicine show when he was 8 years old. Byron and Annette performed on the Keith vaudeville circuit at the turn of the century, playing banjos and singing. Byron also wrote music and gave music lessons. Oscar, who Velma always considered her father, was also a musician and music teacher, as well as a cellist in several orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Nashville Orchestra. Velma received her first piano, a toy piano, in 1912, and loved to play and sing. She always loved performing. One night when she was 10 years old and her folks were out of town for the weekend, the sitter entered Velma in a talent show at the Shaw Hayden Theater. Since Velma had taken tap dancing lessons, she wore her black tap dancing costume and improvised a little number to her record of "The Sheik of Araby." She won third prize, a box of candy. In 1924 when Velma was visiting relatives in Toledo, they went on a boat trip to Put-in-Bay. They were about halfway there when they noticed the sky had changed color and they saw a black funnel cloud. People panicked and some were on their knees praying. The captain turned the boat back to Toledo, full steam ahead, and they made it back safely to port. That was the tornado known later as the deadliest in Ohio history. Velma didn't care for boat rides after that. When Velma was 14 years old, she met Rolly Smith at a church-sponsored Halloween costume party. She was wearing an old fashioned dress with hoop skirt, pantaloons, and lots of ruffles and lace. Rolly was dressed as Little Lord Fauntleroy, wearing short pants and a big flowing bow. Velma and Rolly were married in 1930 Just before her sixteenth birthday, her stepfather offered to give her a car if she'd promise not to go out with the boys until she was twenty-one. She comments in her autobiography "A preposterous idea!" He gave her a car anyway--- a black Model T Ford with a rumble seat. After graduating from Heights High in 1928, Velma worked in May Company's credit office and later at Halle Brother's. She was one of Halle's Dolls, their uniformed elevator operators chosen for their good manners, good character and good looks. Velma loved studying and took classes in Child Psychology, ceramics, creative writing, Russian, music theory, organ and piano. In 1966 she became a master of graphoanalysis. She taught classes in handwriting analysis, gave lectures and did several television interviews. In the 1970s Velma became interested in bell collecting and gave talks on her collection. She also began writing music and composed over 70 pieces for piano and organ. She gave performances and talks for senior citizen groups. Some of her music has been performed this church. She was a member of the bell choir in this church. When she was in her eighties she took a correspondence course at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and graduated in 1995, the oldest graduate in the class. She taught several classes of Bible study. In 2007, Velma moved to the The Gardens at McGregor, where she spent her last two years and where Velma passed away on May 15th . She was the beloved wife of the late Roland G. Smith, who passed away in 1983. The dear mother of Dennis R. Smith Nancy of Forest Lake, MN and Gay Hunter of Shaker Hts., OH. The dear grandmother of Jeffrey Liz, Gary Michelle and Joel Smith Naomi, John Hunter, Susan Hill BJ and Karen Hunter-Mennenga Chris and the loving great grandmother of Santana, Brittany, Megan, Hunter, Login, and Brooke Smith, Ben and Kelly Hill, Amelie and Bridgette Mennenga. The family suggests that those who wish may make contributions in her name to The American Bible Society, 1865 Broadway, NY, NY, 10023 or The First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland, 3630 Fairmount Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44118, where Funeral Services will be held Thursday, May 21st at 2:30 PM. FRIENDS MAY CALL AT THE CHURCH BEFORE THE SERVICE FROM 1:00-2:15 PM. The interment will follow the service at the Lake View Cemetery of Cleveland, OH.


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