Betty Josephine Smith

A service to honor the life of Betty Josephine (Betty Jo) Prudhomme Smith will be held on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at the Minor Basilica of Immaculate Conception Church in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The family will receive friends the same day from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral home.

Betty was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana on April 10, 1934, to Sidney Prudhomme, Sr. and Angvie Prudhomme, the oldest daughter of eight children. She passed away peacefully on September 30, 2025, at the age of 91. She was a graduate of Natchitoches High School and attended Northwestern State University. While she didn’t earn her diploma, she did acquire a husband, Dean, whom she married on August 10, 1957. Betty held many jobs over the course of her lifetime with the longest being at International Paper Company where she retired after forty years of service as an Administrative Specialist. She eventually returned to NSU in later years for art classes.

Betty Jo was known by all as being generous, sweet, and strong, a true Steel Magnolia who was resilient when difficult times came. Anyone who entered her home would leave fed and full. She was a force of nature and if she cared about someone it was unconditional. She loved to dance, to travel, and to paint, a skill that she rarely discussed. She enjoyed playing Bunco, Pokeno, and dominos with friends and was a member of the local Red Hat Society.

She is survived by her children, Lorenza Dean Smith, Jr. (Maryan), Tamala Renee Hamm, Christopher Alan Smith (Julie), and Kimberly Ann Cain. She also leaves behind seven grandchildren, Sydney Williams (Brandon), Mallory Smith (Danny), Joshua Hamm, Sr., (Julie), Katie Martin (Zack), Christopher Smith (Jessica), Richard Smith (Sierra), Rebecca Smith, and seventeen great-grandchildren. She was also a second mom and Mimi to many friends of her children and grandchildren. She was also survived by her siblings, Rose Menou (Mike), Deborah Powell, Doris Bowden, Tedd Prudhomme (Lorna), Richard "Dickie" Prudhomme (Jennifer), and Danny Prudhomme (Sandy). She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Sidney Prudhomme, Sr. and Angvie Edwards Prudhomme; her husband, Lorenza Dean Smith, Sr.; her brother, Charles Sydney Prudhomme Jr.; her son-in-law Robert Earl Hamm; and her great-grandson, Zachary Chase Martin.

Pallbearers will be Joshua Hamm, Sr., Connor Hamm, Joshua Hamm, Jr., Christopher Smith, Richard Smith, and Bradin Smith.

The family would like to thank Community Care Center of Natchitoches and Heart of Hospice, who provided her love and comfort for many months prior to her final days. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, The Bridge Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center, or any other dementia related charity.