Malessa Celeste Smith Lenard

Memorial Visitation for Mrs. Malessa Celeste Smith Lenard, 73, of Monroe, LA, will be held from 2:00 P.M. until 4:00 P.M. on Friday, September 16, 2022, at Mulhearn Funeral Home, 2308 Sterlington Road, Monroe, LA.

Mrs. Lenard was born September 1, 1949, in Little Rock, AR and passed away Saturday, September 10, 2022, surrounded by her family. Malessa grew up in Wisner, LA and graduated from Wisner High School in 1967. She completed her B.S. in social work from Northeast Louisiana University in 1972 and later graduated from Northeast Louisiana University Nursing School in 1986.

Mrs. Lenard enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a Registered Nurse in Monroe. She cared deeply for her patients and worked to provide care and comfort for those in need. In her spare time, she found much happiness playing card games and board games with her family and friends. She loved reading books, sewing, and making quilts. On the weekends, she could be found watching football and baseball with her family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Hilton N. Lenard; mother and father, Maxine Grisham Smith and Thomas Crandall “Tom Cat” Smith, II; and her beloved sister, Mary Jane Smith.

Survivors include her children, Celeste and Grisham and his wife Carol-Anne; grandchildren, Alyssa, Aryiana, Ayden, and Hilton; brother, Thomas Crandall Smith, III; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.