It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother Mary Jane Smith from this earthly place.
I want to tell you some simple things about Mary Jane Smith.
Simple things that seem more important to me now than ever. Like…
•Her favorite color was baby blue.
•Her favorite flower a red rose.
•Her favorite food was lasagna.
•Her favorite time of year was Spring.
Click the link to read her obituary.
Her first Job was at Koonce’s Dime Store Selling Christmas decorations, making 75 cents an hour. That is also where she stalked my dad when he was a stock boy there. Mary Jane played basketball for and graduated from Community school where she attended since 1st grade because as she informed me they didn’t have kindergarten back then. She enjoyed camping and the outdoors with my dad when they were younger She loved cooking! If you were lucky you got to enjoy her food. She cooked a lot! She even has her own cookbook. As a kid I remember she loved sewing, gardening, and tendin’ to our cows.
By knowing my mother YOU were truly blessed. KNOWING her made you feel comfortable and safe because she always took care of the ones she loved. She is the strongest woman I have known in my life. I grew up watching her care for more people than I could count. That’s just the kind of person she was.
She loved the seasons. Spring was her favorite! But fall and winter meant the holidays! That’s when she would really cook her favorite dishes for family get-togethers like her famous Quick Chick and Hello Dollies.
She loved GOD. She loved Jesus. Her heart and soul were always with them. She loved to serve her congregation and her community. I know for a fact she loved her family. Mary Jane was a proud member of the Barber bloodline from Unionville or Doo Little as some of us call it. Mary Jane was an awesome mother and for that I am truly blessed. She taught me how to love and care for others with monumental compassion.
By knowing my mother you may have been lucky enough to have known my father Carl Smith or as some called him “Killer”. My dad was blessed to have Mary Jane as an amazing wife for 44 years. I know he loved her with all his heart. My dad was my best friend during the time I was blessed to have him and we did everything together. People always told me I take after my dad; however I now know I’m much more like my mom than I had ever imagined before. For that I’m very grateful for all the time I had just mom and me.
We worked together on our television show and that gave us a chance to get to know each other even better and get closer than ever before. She played the leading role in my life and was the real star of our tv show. She helped me evolve into the man I am today.
Mary Jane was such a loving grandmother to my children. When Ameria was born she treated her like a daughter and helped raise her the first years of her life. Not long afterwards Lanica, Mary Jane’s carbon copy, was born, and man, her Nanny loved her and protected her like the special shining star that she is. As my children got older they were blessed to have lived with her and helped care for her. I see my mother in their eyes and their hearts. I know my kids will miss her deeply. Mary Jane was also a mother-in-law. My wife Sara Beth loves Mary Jane. We shared some priceless moments together and they had their own special girl time without me. Sara Beth has always admired her bravery and aspires to be more fearless like Mary Jane. One of the things Sara Beth appreciates most about her mother-in-law is that Mary Jane was always tough, but never mean. I am thankful my mom loved my family so much.
She loved her friends and the people she spent time with in Senior Circle and at Celebration Way where she lived. She cared about more people than anyone I know. That’s what makes me love my mother so much. She was a golden soul. I know I will miss that love.
We will all miss that sweet southern home cooked country love that she blessed us all with. Let’s honor Mary Jane Smith by showing that same love to the world that she showed us in her life. Let’s not let that love die. More than anything Mary Jane would want us to keep on lovin’!
I want to thank all of Mary Jane’s doctors and staff that have cared for her over the years. I also want to thank Celebration Way for making the last couple years of my mother’s life adventurous and full of love. They treated my family like their own. And finally a sincere thank you to Compassus Hospice Care for keeping Mary Jane comfortable in her last days.
In the book of Matthew Chapter 11 Verse 28 Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Rest in peace Mary Jane. See you later alligator!
