Nana Smith’s House

About the Book

Mrs. Jessie Mae Smith, known in Indianapolis as Nana Smith, was tired. It had been a long day, but now the wait began. The old church pew she was seated on held no comfort as she anxiously waited for the visitation to begin . . . if it would. The girls sat quietly beside her, too quietly for nine-year-old twins. As her mind began to drift, she silently wondered if this was the pew she sat on at JP’s funeral. Pleasant Hill United Church had remodeled since then, and the old pews were relegated to the Smith Memorial Fellowship Hall, named so for her beloved JP. Deacon John Paul Smith, who had been a lifelong member of Pleasant Hill, died ten years before. One year later the fellowship hall was renamed in his honor.

About the Author

Davina H. Sanders was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to David L. and Jeanne H. (Porter) Sanders. She is the oldest of seven children, fondly referred to as the Magnificent Seven. She moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, in 1959 and then married and had two children—daughter, the late Tyshara, and son, Joseph. She earned her associate degrees in accounting, commercial food service, and paralegal technology and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Martin University, Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha since 1993. She was widowed in 1997 and retired to the Atlanta, Georgia, Metroplex in 2008.