Funeral services for Mary Elizabeth Sanders Smith, 70, of Floyd, will be at 10:00 AM, Sat., Aug. 31, 2019 in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel with Matt Rush officiating. Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Don C. Sanders, Dave Sanders, David Bayne Sanders, Dan J. Sanders, Kirk Bryant, Bill Lehne, Mike McGuire and Ty Sanders serving as pallbearers. The family will receive guests at the funeral home on Friday evening from 6 to 8 PM. Those desiring to make memorial contributions may send them to the Floyd Methodist Church.
Mary Elizabeth Sanders Smith was born on May 3, 1949 to L. J. “Pete” and Frances Sanders in Muleshoe, TX. God welcomed her into His Arms on Aug. 28, 2019 in Lubbock, TX. Through her lifetime she has been called “Mary,” “Mary Liz,” “Mary Elizabeth,” “Elizabeth,” “Liz,” “Miss Liz,” “Mom,” and “Mimi,” but mostly she has been called a child of God.
In 1955, the family moved to New Mexico where she started school at Floyd ISD and graduated there in 1967. She and Phillip Smith were married on August 19, 1967 in Portales. They had a son, Dennis Andrew who also attended Floyd ISD. When he graduated, he and his mother both attended E.N.M.U., and both graduated with Master Degrees in Communicative Disorders. Liz graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Her first job was with the Tucumcari ISD, then she went to Nursing Homes in Clovis, and then came back to the Floyd ISD to be their Speech-Language Pathologist. She remained there until she retired in 2016. She was appointed to the Speech-Language and Audiology Board by Governor Bruce King and served for 6 years.
She had attended the Floyd United Methodist Church since 1955, and became their Pastor in 2006. She has been invited to a lot of churches to preach or do Bible studies. One of those is the Agape United Methodist Church in Lubbock, where this became a yearly event.
She always said that she had the best of two worlds. During the week she spent her time with children, and on Sundays preaching the word of God.
She is survived by Phillip, her husband of 52 years of their home; a granddaughter, Lindsey (John) Carson of Williamsburg, VA; twin grandsons, Trenten and Brenden Smith of Portales; great-grandchildren, Kadence, Adalynne and Eli Carson; two brothers and sisters-in-law, L. J. and Virginia Sanders of Plains, TX and David and Carolyn Sanders of Arch; a sister, Margaret Bryant of Lubbock, TX; her mother-in-law, Katherine “Kat” Smith of Floyd; and numerous nieces and nephews who all believed each was her favorite. She was preceded in death by her parents, her father-in-law, Andrew Smith, her brother-in-law, R. E. Bryant and her son, Dennis Smith who died Nov. 26, 2010.
