Thelma Elizabeth Smith

Thelma Elizabeth Smith, lovingly known as Mama, Aunt Nookie (Aunt Key), Aunt Thelma, Granny and Granny Tex, passed away peacefully on September 28, 2025, at the age of 93.

Born in Houston, Texas on July 27, 1932 to Tony and Lorraine Bertani, Thelma spent much of her childhood on the family farm in Cypress. Growing up in the Depression and World War II years, she remembered studying by candlelight and kerosene lamps before the farm became one of the first in Cypress to receive electricity. Those years shaped her lifelong habits of hard work, discipline, and religious devotion.

In 1951, she married William “Smitty” Smith, with whom she raised a loving family. She was the heart of her home, making sure her family had three square meals every day, keeping her house spotless, and welcoming everyone through her always-open back door. Music filled her home as she sang many songs, especially “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” and “The Prayer of St. Francis.”

Her Catholic faith was the foundation of her life. She had a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, prayed the Rosary faithfully, and was a founding parishioner at both Prince of Peace and Christ the Redeemer Catholic Churches in Cypress. At Christ the Redeemer, she cooked for parish picnics, hosted CCD classes in her home, helped with St. Joseph’s Table, and later joined the Prayer Blanket Ministry. Even into her late 80’s she could be found kneeling by her bedside to pray.

Thelma embodied generosity in everything she did. Whether cooking meals, helping financially, or simply offering her time and open heart, she gave freely to family, friends, and strangers. Her favorite book, The Giving Tree, perfectly captured her way of living.

She endured the deep sorrow of losing her firstborn son, Billy, her dear grandson, Jeremiah, and later her husband, Smitty. Yet she carried her grief with strength and faith, continuing to care for her home and her beloved Mary Garden, and mowing her acres of land well into her late 70’s.

Thelma is survived by her two sisters Rita Baack and Patsy Ainsworth, children Sabrina, Danita, Robert and Michael, grandchildren Rachel, Joshua, Lauren, Stephen, Bernadette and Billy, great-grandchildren Caitlyn, Brooke, Clayton, Keaton, Kyndall and Karsyn, Dante, Ellie, Chela, and Gordon, great-great grandchildren Eleanor, Penelope and Killian and numerous extended family and friends who will carry on her legacy of faith and love.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in Cypress on October 21 at 11:00 am followed by burial at Earthman Resthaven in Houston.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.