By Andrea Jares
Reata Smith starts every day at Whataburger, often with biscuits and gravy. But on Tuesday - her 96th birthday - she had cake.
Joining her was a roomful of regulars at the East Lancaster Avenue restaurant, as well as Whataburger managers who have seen Smith on her visits for breakfast and dinner for more than a decade. From her spot in a corner booth, “Smitty” has become a hub of the neighborhood.
“I like the atmosphere. I like everything about it,” Smith said. “It feels like home.”
So on Tuesday, Whataburger managers and regulars wished her a happy 96th birthday, complete with an applause-peppered rendition of "You are So Beautiful". The managers and crew also presented Smith with a 20-inch television they all chipped in for.
“She’s the kind of lady who brings joy to everybody,” said Jauch Edwards, manager of seven Whataburger restaurants, including the East Lancaster location. “We consider Smitty part of the Whataburger family.”
The neighbors feel that way, too. The seats around her are usually filled with friends who stop by to say hello.
“If it’s breakfast time, she’s already here or on her way,” said Sheila Harrison, another Whataburger regular, who calls Smith “a legend.”
Maxine Nowlin from the Handley area of Fort Worth was one of the many people who pinned dollar bills to Smith’s lapel Tuesday. She met Smitty at Whataburger, where she usually goes twice a week for breakfast.
“I see her every time I’m here,” Nowlin said. “I can’t believe she’s 96 years old and still driving.”
Smith makes the short trip to Whataburger in her 1968 Ford Torino, which she also occasionally uses to take friends to the doctor.
“It’s good transportation, cheap transportation,” Smith said. “It takes me where I want to go and if I’m able, I will.”
The Torino also lets her friends know she’s inside.
“I stop in when I see her car,” said David Nation, a well-wisher who also had a birthday Tuesday. He’s 75.
Smith was raised “a farmer gal” in the cotton fields of Sweetwater, just west of Abilene. Her nephew Beasel T. Marchbanks of Aledo lived 35 miles away and remembers earning $1 for a day’s work and living in a house with no electricity.
Smith came to Fort Worth with a friend in 1939. She worked for eight years at General Dynamics and 15 at a Curtis Mathes assembly plant. She’s lived in the same house since 1963.
“She’s very outgoing - she doesn’t meet strangers,” said Ann Whatley of Haltom City, who said she has been Smith’s hairdresser for about 50 years.
Smith keeps on the go with regular visits to the salon, where she has her short hair styled in finger waves, or to church services at nearby Watson Memorial Nursing Home. She never married.
“You want me to ruin my good life by getting married?” she said. “I wouldn’t have no fun.”
On Tuesday, surrounded by friends, she was having fun.
“I love it,” she said. “I want to be 100.”