In the early hours of September 8, 2021, God called His earthly jewel, Dr. Janice Witt Smith, to join Him in His Heavenly Home. She was born Janice Elizabeth Witt on June 13, 1955 to the late Helen Mundy Witt and Leroy Witt, Sr. in Lynchburg, Virginia. “Dr. J”, as many family members affectionately called her, was the third-born of the five Witt children.
Janice was exceptionally smart, inquisitive, and determined! She set very high goals for herself and for others. She was a lifelong learner and she challenged herself to explore new ideas in business, languages, life, and culture. She achieved a Bachelor of Science, in Business Administration and Management from Indiana University – Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and her Master and Doctoral Degrees in Business at Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Virginia Tech). She was an accomplished tenured Full Professor in the Business Schools of North Carolina A&T State University and Winston-Salem State University. Janice was also a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Janice was an accomplished executive, business and leadership coach who founded and became CEO of her own human resources consulting firm --- J.W. Smith & Associates. Janice was an exceptional motivational speaker and published over 50 academic articles, papers, books, on human resource management, servant leadership, and organizational behavior. Janice prided herself in providing assistance, information, and leadership training to small business owners, particularly women and people of color. She was generous with her time and resources and was never too busy to assist those in need. Over the years, Janice was the recipient of many professional awards, honors and accolades including being inducted into Leadership Charlotte and serving many local community and professional organizations.
Janice also loved her Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ and joined the church family at a very early age! Janice was a member of WORD Fellowship Church in Charlotte and previously a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Greensboro. Janice enjoyed facilitating and leading the Marriage Ministry with her husband (Will Smith). Janice also served faithfully in a leadership capacity over the years including being the Dean of the One in Christ Bible College and serving on the Board of Directors for Christian Education with the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, International.
Janice is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 34 years, William Smith; a daughter, Helena Janelle Clemons (Patrick); and two sons, Chris Smith (Kumie) and Justin Smith (Crystal). Her pride and joy were her six grandchildren: Joshua and Gabrielle Clemons of Charlotte, North Carolina, Malhea and Alex Smith of Atlanta, Georgia, and London and Emerie Smith of Honolulu, Hawaii. She is also survived by four siblings: Judith Fowlkes (Melvin),Leroy Witt, Jr. (Gloria), Beverly Branch (Charles), and Peggy James (E.L.), as well as a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. They will truly cherish her memory as her greatest loves were God and family!
The instructions are below: Go to: www.MTZBC.com Click on the “Watch” link from the Menu This will take you directly to the live stream of Dr. Janice Witt Smith’s service
A Celebration of life will be held at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1301 Alamance Church Rd, Greensboro, NC 27406 on Tuesday September 14, 2021. The visitation will begin at 10:30am and the service will follow at 11:00am. Burial Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Services Entrusted to Perry J. Brown Funeral Home (336)-272-6109
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