Today, September 3, marks the two-year anniversary of my mother’s transition. Below is the obituary I wrote when we were making final funeral arrangements with her before her cancer worsened. If you read my blogs, you know I openly share my heart. Evidently, expressing my heart in this obituary was a bit overwhelming for my family; so, we ended up going with the traditional run-of-the-mill obituary seen daily in newspapers. I recently found this version while going through a plastic tub filled with old photos mom and I had sorted in the months preceding her death. And so, finally published is this version that speaks my heart; and what I wanted the world to know about how wonderful my mom was. Love ya, momma.
Jane Murphy Smith passed from this life on September 3, 2009 after a battle with renal cell cancer. Born November 9, 1939 in Weakley County, Tennessee, she was the daughter to her loving father Elvin “Doc” Murphy and mother Delma Oliver Roney.
Jane was married to her beloved and devoted husband, Dennis, for forty-five years, and resided at their home in Browns Valley, KY. Together they raised two children, Carolyn Denise and Steven Christopher. Jane retired from Williams Pipeline in 2002 after fourteen years of service. She was a member of Owensboro Christian Church.
A wonderful mother, Jane sewed clothes for her children in their younger years, served as a PTA and band mom, and set them straight through their adolescent years. As a beloved wife, she was Dennis’ partner in building a beautiful home on the hill overlooking Browns Valley. Her legacy lives on in her many flower gardens of lilies, roses, daffodils, and iris, to name a few. Jane stocked the cupboards with canned and frozen vegetables from the family gardens, and with jellies, jams, and frozen fruit pies from the family’s orchard. Ever the animal lover, she cared for her devoted dogs Candy, Oakley, Mitch, Mandy and Lady until laid to rest in the Smith pet cemetery. Wild birds knew where to land to find safe haven for food and a warm birdbath. A crafts and Martha Stewart enthusiast, Jane designed silk flower arrangements for the home and the tombstones of loved ones. The holidays were special with her beautifully-decorated Christmas Trees and wrapped gifts; holiday spirit filled the house with her snowmen, Santa Claus and Department 56 Dickens Village collections. A wonderful cook and homemaker, she created a warm and loving home for family and friends.
An avid fan of road trips, Jane enjoyed traveling with her husband, taking in thirty-four of the fifty states; farthest north to New York, east to Maine, south to Louisiana, and west to Utah. She visited twenty-five state capitols and completed her collection of all the newest states’ quarters.
Jane’s last request asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to support the efforts of the Owensboro Humane Society, in memory of her love for dogs, and to Hospice of Western Kentucky that supported her and her family through her transition from this life.
Jane is survived by her husband, Dennis C. Smith, and two children, Carolyn Smith Ferber of Longmont, Colorado, and Steven C. Smith and his wife, Sheri, and their sons, her grandchildren, Tyler and Logan, all of Frankfort, Kentucky. She is also survived by her sister, Reba Adams Callins of Greenfield, Tennesse, and Robert Adams of Sharon, Tennessee.
2 comments:
Beautiful Tribute. Thank you for sharing and blessings.
This is beautiful. You have brought tears to my eyes. You have also inspired me to write my own obituary to my mother who died over 17 years ago. At the fragile age of 23, I do not even remember participating in writing her obituary. Perhaps I did and just do not recall. I only remember feeling sort of numb....
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