Graveside services for Mrs. Eva Marie Witherspoon Smith, age 88, of Deer Park, TX, will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at Mt. Bethel Cemetery near Gary, TX. Mrs. Smith passed from this life on June 10, 201l, in Deer Park, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and lung cancer. Local arrangements are by Jimerson-Lipsey Funeral Home.

Eva Marie Witherspoon Smith was born Aug. 5, 1922 in Panola County, TX to Marcus L. Witherspoon and Alabama Byrd Witherspoon. She was a long-time resident of Livingston, TX. She was married to Jessie Smith and he preceded her in death. They owned several small businesses over the years. They established a wholesale bait business in the early 1970's when Lake Livingston opened and provided minnows to numerous marinas and bait shops around the lake. Marie will be forever in our memory as a loving and caring mother, grandmother, and friend. She loved to cook for her family and was well known for her chocolate fudge, pecan pies, and homemade biscuits. She loved animals and her family who often teasingly called her "Ellie Mae." She was also preceded in death by her parents; sister, Rosa Bell Pass; brother, Woolsey Witherspoon; sister, Emma Joyce "Peggy" Powell; brother, Burke Witherspoon; sister, Bertie White; and brother, Alton Witherspoon.

Marie is survived by Marcus Earl Welch and Elaine Welch, son and daughter-in-law of Pasadena, TX; Jason Lee Welch and Kristi Welch, grandson and wife of Pasadena, TX; Bradley James Welch, great-grandson of Pasadena, TX, Kelly Renee Welch, granddaughter of San Antonio, TX, Sandra Smith Tedford, step-daughter of Pearl, MS; step-granddaughters, Kathy and Daneille of Pearl, MS; numerous nieces and nephews of Livingston and Carthage, TX.

A guestbook may be signed online at www.jimerson-lipsey.com.