Deborah Miller-Smith

Deborah Miller-Smith

My name is Deborah J. Miller-Smith, and I am a Medical Secretary at American Health Imaging. I am the proud mother of two sons Christopher and Gabrielle, and one daughter, Jerijanneice, and seven grandchildren. I am the widow of Frederick E. Smith Sr. I am a member of Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and a free-lance writer. I live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Denise smiling back at me

I remember seeing Denise in the hallway on Friday September 13, 1963 at Center Street Elementary where her mother taught. I had just been promoted to the 4th grade and would miss Mrs. McNair terribly since I would no longer be in her 3rd grade class anymore. That Sunday morning was the same as usual with us kids at the dining room table reading the funny pages of the newspaper while waiting for my grandmother to get ready for Sunday School. Hearing a blast was not unusual because of the various steam and steel plants surrounding us,