Marjorie Marie Dittmann Smith, known as Margie to friends, Mom to her children, and Mere to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, passed away on July 2, 2020, at 102 years old. She went out like she lived – on her own time, in her own way, and when she’d had enough of the rest of us. Mere was the strongest woman we know. Her strength and endurance were legendary, spawning their own hashtag - #Dittmanngenesdon’tdisappoint. A gorgeous, intelligent, and obstinate lady who lived through more than her share of sadness and trouble, Mere had a biting sense of humor and a resilience that puts the rest of us to shame. She knew her mind and took no bull from anyone. Born second of seven children, Mere grew up near Bayou St. John, the daughter of two old souls who insisted that their children speak only French at the dinner table and who expected their children to get educations and make something of themselves. Mere was one of the first women to graduate from Loyola University in New Orleans, earning a bachelor’s degree in Music Education. With an ear for music of all kinds, she sang in a musical group (“The Trio”), performing at venues like the Blue Room across New Orleans. She decided to marry her best friend Vera’s brother after seeing his picture and declaring that he was The One. She married Donald Aristide Smith in 1942, raising their son, Donald Jr (Dee), while Donald deployed with the Army. Son George and daughter Shelley came along after the war ended, and eventually they settled near the Fairgrounds.
Mere’s life was marked and scarred by heartache and grief as well as accomplishment. Two younger brothers, Charlie and Henry, were severely disabled from illness at birth, and she lost her older sister, Emma, and Emma’s unborn child, to polio. A few months later, her youngest brother, George, a U.S. Marine, was killed on Iwo Jima in March 1945. Then in 1957, after a brief battle with lung cancer, she lost her husband Donald – leaving her with three children to raise alone and no income with which to do it. Living in her parents’ basement, teaching piano out of her home in the evenings, and earning credits in the summer toward her degree in elementary education – a process that took six years – Mere made it work. She taught elementary school children in Jefferson Parish public schools for 30 years, tutored out of her house (using Shelley as an aide), and taught piano to her neighbors’ kids, her students, and her grandchildren.
But above all, Mere endured and endured with style, sense of humor intact and sharpened. Whether born that way or through her losses, she did not care one whit what others thought of her. She did not tolerate fools and had no problem telling others exactly what she thought, and for those she loved, her energy and enthusiasm were boundless. After losing Donald, she never remarried. We suspect that she simply didn’t see the point, since her life had become so fully what she made of it. She enjoyed drinking a Manhattan in the evenings, arguing incessantly with Lucille (her younger sister and best friend/sparring partner), long talks with brother Harold, beating Shelley in Scrabble, and she had an odd habit of naming flies “JoJo.” She picked up art after retiring from teaching, painting happy little trees and landscapes with Bob Ross while drinking Cokes from Dorignac’s and letting her grandchildren and great-grandchildren eat as many Werther’s caramels as they could fit in their bellies.
Mere found immense humor in the loss of her short-term memory. She is finally free now, joining her Donald after a 62.5-year absence and her sons Dee (Lirly) and George, who preceded her in death. We know that her parents, Charles Dittmann, Sr., and Emma Hincks Dittmann, were waiting for her, along with all of her siblings and friends. She is survived by her daughter Shelley Gaudry (Tom), daughters-in-law Lori (Dee) and Dolores (George), granddaughters Kim Lemon (Chad), Brooke Gibbons (Neil), Jeannette Gaudry Haynie (Chris), Lisette Gaudry, Paulette Plakidas (Tony), Julia Williamson (Billy), and Katie Smith. She is also survived by nine great-grandchildren: Quinn and Owen Lemon (Kim), Annette, Juliette, and Tom Haynie (Jeannette), Sophie, Charlie, and George Plakidas (Paulette), and Liam (Julia). She is survived by her close friends and caregivers, Leah Buck, Joyce Lester, and Nicole Warren, who saw Mere through her final years with love and humor. Her family also wishes to deeply thank the entire staff at Azalea Estates in Slidell for their patience, humor, and empathy.
We hope that at least a fraction of Mere’s resilience and endurance will remain with the rest of us here on earth.
Funeral service will be at Lake Lawn Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd on Monday, July 13, 2020. Visitation begins at 9:00AM followed by Service at 10:00. Burial will follow at St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 at 3421 Esplanade Ave. All attendees must wear masks. Services will be private due to the quarantine. A celebration of Marjorie’s life will be held at a later date.
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