Mary Lou Smith

Mary Lou was the only child of Bright Robert Routh and Esther Vivian (“Bid”) Davis and was born in Springfield, Ohio where she spent her early childhood years. Her mother’s brother-in-law and sister, Uncle Israel Foy Roberson and Aunt Eula Ruth Davis, along with their sons Israel Foy Jr and John Davis Roberson, also lived in Springfield at the time so the families were able to spend precious time together. The cousins became very close and remained so their entire lives.

After Springfield, Mary Lou and her parents lived for a time in her mother’s hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina then moved to Norfolk, Virginia where Mary Lou attended both grammar and high school at Norview High and Elementary School. Living in Norfolk on the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean Mary Lou and other horrified beachgoers not infrequently witnessed German U-boats prowling the Virginia coast. The aerial blitz of Britain had terrorized and impressed upon the residents of the eastern US seaboard the need for effective air raid safety to prevent enemy aircraft from identifying population centers. Mary Lou vividly described how everyone turned off all the lights in their homes and hung drapes or blankets on the windows, while people drove on unlit streets with tape-covered headlights. Despite the grim circumstances, the irrepressible Mary Lou recalled many lively escapades with her high school friends on the local beaches.

After graduating from Norview High School Mary Lou attended Averett College in Danville, Virginia, a private Baptist women’s school. There she obtained a two-year associate’s degree in secretarial studies. Her family then moved to Durham, North Carolina. It was there she met and married Roy Lee Smith on 29 Aug 1955 when she was 23 years old. They eventually divorced and in the meantime her parents moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Tragically, only six years after relocating, Mary Lou’s father died 30 Nov 1961 at the young age of 54. Her mother never remarried. By this time the divorced Mary Lou had already moved to Charlotte and, with only each other to cling to, she and her mother became best friends to one another until her mother’s death on 20 Aug 1999.

Mary Lou worked throughout her adult life in various business roles including secretary, credit manager, sales person, and office manager in the construction industry including brick manufacturers Dyke Industry and Boral Industry. She further honed her business skills with courses at King’s College in Charlotte, North Carolina, became a member of the National Association of Credit Management and the Home Builders Association, as well as vice president and secretary for the Charlotte chapter of Women in Construction. After a long and successful career Mary Lou most enjoyed spending time with her family especially her cousin, John Roberson, who had moved to Charlotte with his wife, Gloria, and his mother Eula “Ruth” Roberson who was Mary Lou’s aunt. They gathered innumerable times at her cousin John’s family dinner table where relatives from all over North Carolina and beyond met in happy fellowship with lively discussions that included religion and politics well as stories of family history which no doubt continue now that so many of them are reunited in heaven. Mary Lou was never able to have children, but she is survived by many cousins who were very close to her and loved her dearly. We will long remember her.

A Graveside service will be held 11am on December 17,2022 at Sharon Memorial Park, 5716 Monroe Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28212.