Charlene Smith

Charlene (Kendrick) Smith of Hillsboro passed away Thursday, January 26, 2017, at the age of 88 following a long illness. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, February 2, 2017, at Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors Chapel in Hillsboro. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Garden of Memory near Hillsboro. Visitation will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, at the funeral home.

She was born November 17, 1928 in Vaughan, Texas, to Carl Kendrick and Callie (Pritchett) Kendrick. Charlene married Wendell Smith on September 4, 1948, at the age of 19. They were married for 62 years until Wendell’s death in 2010. Charlene retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1984, after a long career as a telephone operator and repair clerk. What Charlene will be most remembered for was her devotion for her family. She loved hosting family gatherings at her house, serving countless meals. She was always the family care giver, starting when she was just a child. First, she looked after her little brothers, then both her and Wendell’s parents, and later her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. All the grandchildren have fond memories of driving the toy Jeep in her driveway, watching the birds on her patio, and going to feed the deer at Lake Whitney State Park.

Charlene enjoyed going on RV trips with her husband, Wendell. She most enjoyed trips to Red River, New Mexico just to sit surrounded by mountains and to watch the antics of the hummingbirds and chipmunks. In the 1980's, Charlene and Wendell traveled around the country pouring over courthouse records doing genealogy research. Charlene then wrote and self-published a genealogy book covering not only her own family’s history but included her husband’s family, using records from as far back as the seventeenth century. She then gave a copy of that book to each family member, a permanent family record that is treasured to this day.

Charlene was preceded in death by her loving husband, Wendell, her parents, and her older sister, Olanda (Kendrick) Wickman.

Charlene is survived by her two children, Michael Smith and wife, Martha, and Patty (Smith) Kirby and husband, Clark; grandchildren, Ashley (Smith) Dillion and husband, John, Whitney (Smith) Fischer husband, Jerry, Lucas Smith, Caleb Smith, Jennifer Kirby, and Thomas Kirby; great-grandchildren, Talon, Windsor, Serenity, Francesca, and Evangeline; two younger brothers, Leon Kendrick and Jack Kendrick and wife, Jessica; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Funeral Service

Thursday February 2, 2017 , 10:00 AM at Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro

Viewing and Visitation

Wednesday February 1, 2017 , 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro

Burial

Thursday February 2, 2017 at Hillcrest Garden of Memory