Ilene E. Worth, daughter of the late Arthur Lee Smith and Elma Rogers Smith, was born on April 8, 1932 in Essex, Missouri and departed this life on April 17, 2020 at Cypress Point Skilled Nursing in Dexter, Missouri at the age of 88 years.

Mrs. Worth was a former bookkeeper for Malone & Hyde in Sikeston, Missouri.  She was a member of the Olive Branch General Baptist Church in Essex and the Essex Order of the Eastern Star.  Also, she and her husband were pastors of numerous General Baptist Churches in the area.

She was united in marriage to Rev. Willis Henry Worth on October 17, 1948 in Bloomfield, Missouri.  Rev. Worth preceded her in death on June 16, 2016.

She is survived by her son, Eugene Worth Jr. of Morehouse; by three daughters, Pamela J. Dowdy of Dexter, Teresa Worth of Dexter and Sandra Nicole Worth of Sikeston; by her sister, Irene Jordan of Dexter; by eight grandchildren, Amy Beth Dowdy, Matthew Dowdy, LaTisha Ivy, Heather Annesser, Shawn Goodman, Jessie Sanders, Lee Bloomfield III and Hannah Worth; by twenty-one great-grandchildren; by eight great-great-grandchildren; and by numerous nieces and nephews.

Other than by her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by four brothers, Robert Smith, Carl Smith, Louie Smith and Arthur Lee Smith.

A private, family only, funeral service will be conducted at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Monday, April 20, 2020.  Interment will follow in Essex Cemetery.

Funeral services may be viewed via webcast at mathisfuneralhomes.com or on the Mathis Funeral Home Facebook page.  Expressions of sympathy, honoring Mrs. Worth, will be accepted at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to the Stars and Stripes Museum, 17377 Stars and Stripes Way, Bloomfield, MO 63825

Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is in charge of all arrangements.