Mary Lillian McCarty was born in Paris, Texas, on August 6th, 1946, to parents Marshall D. McCarty and Lola Myrtle McCarty. The eldest of 10, Mary devoted her early life to being a sharecropper, housewife, mother, and, later, a caregiver. Known for being a stern but very loving and caring mother and grandmother, she really enjoyed cooking, family gatherings, music, challenging everyone at dominoes, and her beloved birds (her babies). She passed away on March 19, 2026.
Mary was preceded in death by her mother and father, her son Gregory Wayne Smith, her sisters; Hattie Mae McCarty and Aimee Lee Harris, brothers; Willie D. McCarty and Marshell D. McCarty Jr., an infant brother (unnamed), grandson Steven Brooks, niece Rayneika McCarty, and ex-husband James Harold Smith.
Mary is survived by her children; Jeannetta Watson (Glenn), Marcus Smith, Pamela Long, Jerome Pittman, all of San Diego, CA, and Valinda Martinez (Ronnie) of San Antonio, Texas, 17 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, 5 great-great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-great-grandchild, sisters; Mamie Bickems, Dorothy McCarty, Rosa Robinson, and Patricia Russell (Dexter), all of Texas, and an abundance of nieces, nephews, and cousins.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We extend our most sincere gratitude to everyone for the phone calls, visits, prayers, words of comfort, and all acts of kindness shown to us during our time of bereavement. A very special thanks to the Sharp Grossmont Hospital staff, the Sharp Bonita Vista Hospice Home staff, Preferred Cremation and Burial staff, Pastor Donald, Beverly Owens, and the Exodus UMC family, our personal friends, coworkers, and patrons.
