Mae Lois Smith

Our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Mae Smith, 88, passed away on Sunday, October 4, 2015 following an illness. She was born in Valley Springs, Arkansas on May 7, 1927 to Charles and Hersie Johnson. She was the youngest of seven children and one of only two girls. Her father passed away when she was five years old and the family moved to the Wolverine area near Shelly, Idaho. She received her education in a one room schoolhouse and enjoyed many adventures. Unfortunately, her mother passed away when she was only eleven and Mae then lived with her sister and her brother-in-law. They moved to Idaho Falls when Mae was about 17 and she worked various jobs to help the family earn money. She met Ross Blackburn who had just returned from Europe after his army service in World War II and they married on April 13, 1946. Their first daughter, Carol Ann was born in April 1947 and after a long wait, a second daughter, Connie Lee joined the family in January 1952. The family relocated to Pocatello for Ross' work in 1958. Ross had a severe heart attack shortly after Connie's birth and his health continued to decline. He passed away on July 31, 1963 and Mae was left to act as both mother and father to her daughters who were aged 16 and 11 at the time of his death. A year after she was widowed she met a gentle, kind man named LaGrande "Lee" Cordon whom she married on November 19, 1966. They spent nearly ten years enjoying life but sadly history repeated itself and he passed away on June 30, 1976. In 1986 life handed Mae another great surprise. She met Lloyd Smith and they married on February 27, 1987. They spent 28 beautiful years together, traveling, camping, fishing and enjoying life until he passed away on August 26, 2015. Mae had a keen work ethic and was employed for many years as a grocery checker followed by several years as a cook at Remo's Restaurant. She then worked at Garrett Freight Lines where she retired in 1987. Mae faced tremendous challenges in her life but met them with grace, dignity, and humor. She loved to fish, camp, travel, read and embroidery and she valued her family, friends and home. She was profoundly and deeply loved by her family and has left many memories and life lessons that will always be treasured and remembered. She is survived by her daughters, Carol (Jim) Facer and Connie (Mike) Terry; step-children, Calvin Smith, Janette (Kirk) Jones, and Daryl (Shirley) Smith; 14 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Hersie Johnson; her husbands, Ross Blackburn, Lee Cordon and Lloyd Smith; sister, Ada Hensell; brothers, Claude, Johnny, Charles, Jim and Lee Johnson; and great-grandchildren, Bridger and Weston Heinz. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. at Mountain View Cemetery, 1520 S. 5 th Ave. Pocatello, Idaho 83204.

Graveside Service

10/08/2015 14:00



Gibson Cemetery



Fort Hall

Idaho