Most of you knew my Mother from church and Walmart. She loved her church family dearly. When she was nominated to serve as an elder she did not feel qualified because there were so many very smart people in the church. Instead of declining, she studied church history for months in order to educate herself and be worthy to serve. She also loved her Walmart family. There were several special friends who she thought of as family. I wanted to share a few things that you might not have known about her.
John shared her love of music very well, so I’ll just add that she did not like sharps, so she would transpose the music to flats. Only once did a lady remark to Mama that she noticed Mama did not play the music as written. Arthritis in her fingers kept her from playing in later years. The last time I heard Mama play was at Misty’s small wedding at our church in Waskom in 2002. When she learned there was no music, she sat down and played with no practice. It was beautiful.
Mama spent most of her life in Magnolia, only leaving for a few years once she married my daddy. She was a fun parent when John and I were growing up. There wasn’t much money so she took us to the park, on picnics, on walks to enjoy nature, and many times we’d walk to the store to buy a treat with money from picking up coke bottles. She had a lively imagination and filled our heads with stories and fantasy. She also celebrated every occasion and holiday; a trait she carried on in later years through cards.
We returned to Magnolia when my daddy died in 1969. She stayed home with us until she began working at Walmart in 1979, where her duties were running the fitting room and answering the phone. A few were amazed at how well she managed 5 phone lines with ease. They didn’t know she’d previously been a professional secretary. She’d worked for The World Book and Montgomery Ward when we lived in Little Rock. I never could take dictation and type as well as she did, and I tried. She could type perfect copy at 100 WPM.
Mama’s two favorite people in the world were her brother and her son. She was so proud of being Denny Smith’s little sister. She was equally proud of Dr. John and all his accomplishments. These last few years Uncle Denny has called her often and they talk a long time. Those calls lifted her spirits for days. John called faithfully every Sunday. I ran across a notebook she’d used to document her hospital stay in 2013 which illustrates pretty well how she felt about John. She listed the visitors one day which included Kristy and her family, Misty, Stormy, Tommy, and Pam. The last listing in ALL CAPS read “JOHN CALLED.”
Mama was the daughter of a historian, the wife of a history professor who died while workin on his doctorate, and the mother of a historian. This explains her love of history. She told me as a young girl she discussed current events with her daddy daily. She also loved keeping up with news and politics. She never failed to vote, which she considered her civic duty.
Mama’s favorite thing was family gatherings. She’s told me for years that family is everything. John and Janice have been great taking her to visit her brother and his family these last few years. I have taken her to our gatherings for many years. This last year she cut down on these trips, saying she just wasn’t up to it. Stormy and Will did give her a ride to Houston for Zach’s graduation, and she made the trip to Misty’s house in Longview with John and Janice this summer. That was the last time they saw my daughter Kristy. She passed away suddenly from cancer on August 15. We were all together for the last time at Kristy’s memorial service in Houston on September 12th. Mama was right. Family is everything.
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