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Mattie Jo Smith

Benton, KY Jul. 01, 1918 | Jan. 14, 2018
Benton, KY | Jul. 01, 1918 | Jan. 14, 2018

Mattie Jo Smith, age 99 of Benton, KY, passed away on January 14, 2018 at Lake Way Nursing and Rehabilitation in Benton, KY.

Born on July 1, 1918, she was the oldest child of the late Thomas Arista Hill and the Late Lorena (Morgan) Hill.

Mrs. Smith graduated as valedictorian of her high school class at Benton High School in 1936. A graduate of Murray State, she began her teaching career in one-room schools in Marshall County. Later, she taught in the Benton City Schools until her retirement in 1980. Afterward she served two decades as president of the Marshall County Retired Teachers Association. In 2018 she will be inducted into the Kentucky Teachers Hall of Fame.

Mattie Jo was a faithful member of the New Harmony Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School and Bible School, and authored the written history of the church. She served for many years as the Women on Missions director for the Blood River Association. As a volunteer, she was an active participant in the Marshall County Hospital Auxiliary. An avid gardener and quilter, her legacy lives on in the "Grandmother's Flower Garden" barn quilt that is seen on her red barn on Symsonia Road.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Rollie Aubrey Smith, one grandson, John Richard Barnard; one brother; Morgan Hill; and two sisters, Marietta Hill and Eva Locke.

Surviving are her daughter, Mattie Susan Barnard and husband Jack of Radford, VA; her son, Phillip Aubrey Smith and wife Pamela of Lawrenceville, GA; four grandchildren: Anne Barnard Schmit (Don) of Charlotte, NC; Amy Barnard Hughes (John) of Denver, CO; Brian Smith (Janette) of West Palm Beach, FL; and Kristen Smith Menonna (Philip) of Denver, CO; eleven great-grandchildren, Andrew and Aubrey Smith of West Palm Beach, FL; Evan and William Schmit of Charlotte, NC; John, Ryan, David, Matthew and Andrew Hughes of Denver, CO; and Ava and Luca Menonna also of Denver, CO.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of the Collier Funeral Home, Benton, KY. Rev. Don Wilson, Rev. Van Russell, and Rev. Roy Gibson will officiate. Interment will follow the service in the Thompson Cemetery, Benton, KY.

Friends may visit with the family between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at the Collier Funeral Home, 211 West 5th St., Benton, KY 42025.

The family asks that memorial contributions be made to Sunrise Children's Services, a ministry that provides a safe home for children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. Donations may be sent to Sunrise Children's Services, P.O. Box 1429, Mt. Washington, KY 40047 (www.sunrise.org) or may be given to the Thompson Cemetery Fund, c/o Bill Morgan, P.O. Box 492, Benton, KY 42025.

 



Collier Funeral Home
211 West 5th Street
Benton, KY 42025
Email : info@collierfuneralhome.com Phone : (270) 527-3141