Mary Katharine Smith

Funeral services for Mary Katharine Smith, 91, are set for Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. at the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Bennie Slack Officiating. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery.

Mrs. Smith died November 8, 2008 at the Renaissance Care Center.

She was born October 5, 1917 in Glenn, Georgia to Alonzo Smith Davis and Ruby Garvey Davis. She married Gordon Bennett Smith, Sr. on April 21, 1938 in Arlington, Texas.

She graduated from Gainesville High School in 1935 and worked as secretary to the Gainesville City Manager and for the Rent Control Board during WWII.

She was a 4th generation member of the First Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School and was president of the Woman’s Missionary Union.

She was a founding member of the Tuesday Book Club and an accomplished reviewer of books, most notably All the Women of the Bible and The Agony and the Ecstasy.

She helped organize the Francis Lightfoot Lee Chapter of the DAR, the Gainesville Garden Club, and the American Study Club.

Most notably, she was Worthy Matron of the Belle Main Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, in 1946 and was later elected Worthy Grand Matron of Texas and was installed in San Antonio in 1959. She conducted Eastern Star meetings throughout the state until her term ended in Dallas in 1960. It was one of the major highlights of her life.

Survivors include one son, Gordon Bennett Smith, Jr., of Gainesville; three grandsons: Aaron Smith of Gainesville, Andy Smith of Glendale, CA., and Ben Smith of Denton, and a niece, Carolyn Davis of Fort Worth.

She was preceded in death by her husband Gordon, and earlier by her brother Martin Davis.

Pall bearers are Joe Munn, Ray Nichols, Larry Payne, Tommy Moore, Keith King, and John Hendrick.

Honorary pallbearers are Clyde Yeatts, John Pipes, Richard Stark, Ken Moritz, Frank Maynard, and Lee Tatum.

Visitation will be held at the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M.