Clara Byers Smedelay, was born in Gaffney, South Carolina on July 13, 1948, and was a daughter of the late Violet Byers, Edward Tate, and adopted daughter of Genevieve Smedelay
Clara passed away on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, in the Peachtree Centre, Gaffney.
She was a 1965 graduate of Granard High School in Gaffney. She furthered her education at Clinton Jr. College in Rock Hill, SC and Morris College in Sumter, SC. She was a member of Allen Temple C.M.E. Church.
She was predeceased by a daughter, Wanda Smedelay Hopper; sisters, Mae Edna Newsome, Nellie Steen, Mary Violet Byers Dawkins; brothers, Leroy Byers, Wright Byers, and Shedrick Byers.
Clara leaves to cherish loving memories: two sisters, Cathy Smedelay Martin, and Elwillie Belton; a brother, Rev. Dewey Whittenburg (Mary) of Gaffney; son-in-law, Everett Hopper, Sr.; grandchildren, Quaterra Howard (Elvis Howard, Sr.), and Everett Hopper, Jr. (Xavier Gibbs); great-grandchildren Elijah Howard and Elvis Howard, Jr. other relatives and friends.

Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, February 16th, at 2:00 p.m., in The Gilmore Mortuary Chapel. Interment will follow in Gaffney Memorial Park.