Visitation will be on Tuesday evening from 5 to 7 at
Quiram-Peasley Funeral Home, 202 N.W. Vine St. in
Atlanta, and on Wednesday at the church from 1 p.m.
until the time of the service. Private burial will
be at a later date.
She was born Oct. 16, 1942, in Lincoln to Herbert
and Helen L. Miller Smith. She married Gary R.
Gemberling on Sept. 2, 1962, at the Atlanta United
Methodist Church.
She is survived by her husband, of Atlanta; one
daughter, Merritt L. (and Joel) Furnari of Kappa;
one son, Greg R. (and Liz) Gemberling of Minier; two
brothers, Dennis (and Sandy) Smith of McLean and
Barry (and Jenny) Smith of Carson City, Nev.; four
grandchildren, Alexandria Furnari, Madison
Gemberling, Mason Furnari and Rae Furnari; and
several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents and one
brother, James C. Smith.
Mrs. Gemberling started the choir and Bible
school at Ebenezer United Methodist Church and was
the superintendent of the Sunday school and Bible
school for many years. She was also the founder and
director of the Atlanta Community Band and a
founding member of the Simply Tasteful Red Hat
Society chapter in Atlanta. She was a member of the
League of Women Voters and was a Girl Scout leader
in LaSalle-Peru.
Next to her family and friends, her love was
music. She also loved to travel and visited 44
countries during her lifetime.
She wrote and published a book titled "When
Grandma Was a Little Girl."
She graduated from Atlanta High School in 1960
and attended Illinois State Normal University.
Memorials may be made to The Cradle adoption
agency in Evanston or to the Atlanta Community Band.
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