Tekeya Jahleah Smith McCollum was born on June 14, 1994, to Alonzo Martin and Pamela Smith, adopted at age 6 by Detra and Anthony McCollum.

Tekeya grew up in College Hill and attended Cincinnati Public Schools, where no one was exempt from her fireball personality. Tekeya was loving and kind but was quick with her words and enjoyed using them. Her over-the-top dramatics allowed her to be bold, and fierce, making the most out of each day, giving everyone a run for their money.

Tekeya loved hanging out with her friends. She loved the hood, having a good time with people and making them laugh. She was ghetto fabulous, the real ghetto fabulous - so much, that it became her FB moniker "Ghetto Fabulous McCollum" and her nickname. She embraced it, loved it and was definitely the life of the party.

Tekeya was fashionable, fast-talking, and witty, with a million-dollar smile. She was mother to five beautiful children who each carry that fire energy. They will grow up knowing their mother loved them and her family. People think her life was cut short, but she lived her life unapologetically, as she pleased, how she pleased.

Tekeya was preceded in death by: adopted grandmother, Patricia McCollum; biological grandmother, Sally Smith; adopted father, Anthony; biological sister, Terra Smith and adopted sister, Michico McCollum.

Tekeya leaves to cherish her memory: her five children, Takiyah, Javier, Day'Meir, Terriyah, and Zyairee; best friend and children's father, Puncho; mothers, Detra and Pamela; father, Alonzo; birth siblings, Tiffany, Tamica, Tiarra, Tarris, Tender, Tamyrin, and Gianni; adopted siblings, Nicole, Levar, DeRonn, Johnda, Devonna, Mariah, and Jada McCollum and a host of family and friends. Her tree was big.

Tekeya will be forever loved and never forgotten.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 10:00 am until 11:00 am, on  Friday, January 9, 2026, at the Walker Funeral Home - Walnut Hills Chapel, 2625 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati  (45206).   The funeral service will immediately follow the visitation,  beginning at 11:00 am. Friends and family will gather to share memories, find solace in one another's company, and honor the legacy she leaves behind.

We invite you to take a few moments to share fond memories and words of comfort and condolence with the McCollum family. Please click the "Tribute Wall" icon above and to the right, enter the information, and click "Save Post."

Walker Funeral Home and Crematory  is caring for the McCollum family during this difficult time.  Please call 513.251.6200 or visit www.HerbWalker.com for additional information.