Wes Smitherman stifled the slightest of laughs before answering a question about his older sisterâs basketball days at Jonesville High.
He hadnât thought about them in a while. His last remaining sibling, Joan Elizabeth Smitherman Dawson, died last week. So a smile, however short-lived, was a welcome diversion.
Dawson â Jo to her friends and heartbroken former colleagues at The Sentinel and the Winston-Salem Journal â had been a heck of a player.
âShe was really fast. Competitive, too. She made the All-Northwest team back in the day, which was a really big achievement,â Smitherman said. âBut that was back when they thought girls were too âfragileâ to play full court so they never crossed mid-court.â