MARGARET ELLEN SMITH (MIMI), wonderful and loving mother, wife, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, born the 2nd of June, 1914 in San Marcos Texas to Gaston and Ethel Hartsfield, passed away with her children by her side on Monday, the 17th of August, 2009 in Houston from complications of surgery. She was 95 years young and still loved to shop and be out and about. Her sense of fashion was unmatched, and she loved to dress up. The daughter of a Methodist minister, Mrs. Smith was a true Southern Belle her entire life, and always had a smile on her face. She was that rare breed that was as beautiful and wonderful on the inside as she was on the outside. In spite of her classic beauty she turned down offers to be an actress in favor of being a Texas homemaker for her husband dentist, Dr. Jack Smith, who preceded her in death in 1993 after 50 years of marriage, and her brother Warren Moore Hartsfield who passed in 1960. She is survived by her daughter Jaclyn Ellen Smith and her husband Dr. Bradley Scott Allen; grandchildren Gaston Anthony Richmond and Spencer Margaret Richmond, all of Los Angeles, CA; a son Thomas Hartsfield Beville Sr. and his wife Charlotte of Luling Texas; their children Thomas Hartsfield Beville Jr. and his wife Anne; great-grandchildren Forrest Thomas and Falon Anne all of Austin; Michael Eugene Beville and his wife Debra; great-grandchildren Paige Catherine and Collin Michael all of Austin; Larry Duane Beville and his wife Margaret; great-grandchildren Lauren Margaret and Lindsay Charlotte, all of New Braunfels; her best friend and niece Dolores Malone; niece Mary Malone; cousin Margery Harpley, and her dog Honey-Bun, all of Houston. Mrs. Smith loved life, and in turn was loved by all who knew her. She was an extraordinary and unique woman who touched and enriched the lives of everyone she met, which explains why so many in Houston and beyond are today celebrating her life. Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from six until nine o'clock in evening on Friday, the 21st of August, in the Parlor of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. The funeral service is to be conducted at one o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 22nd of August, at First United Methodist Church, 1320 Main Street in Houston. The entombment will follow, via an escorted cortege, at the Memorial Mission Mausoleum at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery in Houston.
Published in Houston Chronicle from August 20 to August 22, 2009