Nellie Brown Smith

Nellie Brown Smith Smith (not a typo!) was born in Frenchman’s Bayou, Arkansas, on December 5, 1926, to Barney and Mary Little Smith. She passed away peacefully at home on August 12, 2026. She was the oldest of eight children. At an early age, the floods in Arkansas drove her family to move to Rockport, Mississippi where she was raised on a farm, regularly missing days of school during cotton picking season, which she often said she disliked immensely. On drives to Rockport, Nellie B, as she was affectionately called by her siblings, would point out the steps of the school she attended. Eventually, they were taken away along with the post office, general store and railroad tracks that defined the entry to Rockport.

Nellie graduated from Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in 1947, the first in her family to attend college and moved to Jackson to work as a medical records professional, becoming certified in May 1952 to be a Registered Records Librarian. A highlight of that era was a work trip to Chicago, where, coincidentally, her Aunt Julie Augusta Little Grugett and her family lived. She lived in downtown Jackson at a boarding house for women and shopped at the nearby George Street Grocery. Her roommate, Maxine and Maxine’s future husband, Johnny, introduced Nellie to Johnny’s cousin, Thomas H. Smith, of Laurel MS. Their courtship blossomed as Tommy hitch-hiked regularly from Auburn, AL where he was in architecture school. They married at Galloway Methodist Church on December 3, 1955, days before Nellie turned 29. She continued to work until her children, Janet Marie Smith and Susan Ellen Smith Elliott were born, as she enjoyed the responsibilities of her job. She returned to hospital administrative work when her girls were in school, taking educational and professional classes to keep up with changes in the profession and was a valued Medical Records Technician. Over the decades, Nellie worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, and the Mississippi State Hospital. She attempted retirement on multiple occasions and always responded to calls from her colleagues for support. Even after true retirement, she volunteered at the Methodist Rehabilitation Center for many years.

Nellie and Tommy, as she called him, were members of Wesley Methodist Church during the 30 plus years they lived near Green Elementary School in Jackson, where Janet and Susan attended school. They returned to Galloway as church members again in the early 1990’s. Nellie was a faithful attendee and, in her last years, a participant via the church’s live feed. She was a member of the Northwoods Exchange Club and participated in numerous United Methodist Women’s Circle groups and PTA clubs. Nellie was proud to be named one of the volunteers of the year by the Mississippi Hospital Association in 2002.

Nellie loved her family and her extended family and seldom missed a chance to attend a July 4 outing, a Christmas party, a grandchild’s graduation from elementary, middle or high school whether in Jackson or Baltimore where her daughters and their families resided. Nellie also loved pets and never turned away a stray cat that showed up at her door or the multiple cats her husband and children brought home over the years. She took in dogs and ducks, but cats were her favorite.

While Nellie had strong opinions, she was thoughtful, careful and gracious with her words and seldom offered unsolicited views or advice. She often deferred to other family members to map out any trip whether to a restaurant or international travel. The one exception her daughters recall was her 50th anniversary when she suggested a Hawaii cruise with her immediate family, which of course, was made a priority.

Nellie is survived by her children, Janet Marie Smith (Bart Harvey) and Susan Smith Elliott (Ronnie Rogers) and grandchildren, Ellen and Steven Blevins (Louisville, KY), Taylor and Tyler Reeves (Jackson, MS), Rob and Shelby Elliott (Lewistown, MT), Bart and Bridget Harvey (Baltimore, MD), Nellie Harvey (Baltimore, MD), Jack Harvey (New York, NY), and great-grandchildren Smith Blevins, Kimble Blevins, Carter Reeves, Anderson Reeves, brother, John Mack Smith and sisters, Ann Crosby and Margaret (Sidney) Lee.

She is predeceased by her husband, Thomas Henry Smith, her brother, Barney Smith, Jr., and sisters, Mary Loyce Berry, Elise Smith and Audrey Cupit and her parents, Barney and Mary Smith.

A celebration of her life will be held at Galloway Methodist Church in December, which would have been Nellie’s 100th birthday month. The service will be held in the chapel where she and Tommy were married on December 3,1955 and where his memorial service was held in 2012.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Nellie’s memory be sent to Galloway Methodist Church at P.O. Box 1092, Jackson, MS 39215 or the Mississippi Animal Rescue League at https://msarl.org/memorial-donation or 5221 Greenway Drive Ext., Jackson, MS 39204.