Sidney Mae Smith

She was born to the late Floyd Emmitt and Eula Lorene (Perry) Boswell on August 16, 1939, in Cleburne, Texas. Sidney graduated from Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1957. She married Garth Lamont Smith, Jr., in 1959.

Sidney went to work at the General Dynamics Corporation (now Lockheed Martin) in Fort Worth, in 1966, and worked there for 42 years until her retirement in 2008. She served in various capacities during her career at Lockheed, including working as a procurement follow- up in the Purchasing Department, and also worked in the Accounting Department. Sidney ultimately worked her way up the corporate ladder to serve as an Executive Secretary in Administration. She made a great many friends during her years at Lockheed.

She loved her mother’s cooking. Her mother often told the story that, when Sidney was young, she would fry two chickens for dinner every Sunday...one for the family and one for Sidney, and that she would also bake two chocolate pies...one for the family and one for Sidney. She enjoyed spending time with her cousins, and playing records and having dance parties with her family members during the holidays. Sidney loved cruising in her 1958 Chevrolet convertible with her friends and cousins, stopping at the drive-ins for sodas.

Sidney was a country-western music fan, especially of the “King of Country”, George Strait, but always reserved her most special admiration for the “King of Rock & Roll”, Elvis Presley. She loved her trips to Las Vegas, where she enjoyed the fabulous shows, along with the fabulous slot machines.

Sidney enjoyed shopping, as evidenced by the toll-free numbers for the HSN and QVC shopping channels being saved as “frequent” contacts in her cell phone. She always had a lot of “Mom Quotes” ready to go at a moment’s notice, such as “Don’t count your chickens until the eggs are hatched!”, “I’ll knock you into next week!”, and “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!”. Despite her hectic schedule, Sidney was obsessive about keeping a clean house, to an almost military-like precision.

She is survived by her daughter, Charlita Kratz, and son-in-law Doug, of Hurst, Texas, her son, Lonnie, also of Hurst, Texas, and her sister, Gwen Marcene Ramsey of Burleson, Texas. She is pre-deceased by her parents, along with her son, James, and her sister, Patricia Boswell McTeer.

Sidney’s final resting place, per her wishes, will be at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas, following a private inurnment service. A celebration of life event for Sidney will be held on a date to be announced later.

The family has stated that donations may be made in Sidney’s memory to her favorite charity, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) in Memphis, Tennessee.