Catherine "Cat" Smith Mcbride

Catherine “Cat” Smith McBride departed this life Wednesday, September 02, 2015 at Maury Regional Medical Center. She was born in Maury County, Tennessee, November, 28, 1930 to Sam Hugh Smith and Louise Holt Smith. On October 27, 1957 she married Frank McBride, Jr. of Columbia to whom she was married for 57 years.

The Celebration of her life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at Highland Park Baptist Church where she was a long time member. Officiating will be Rev. Mark Proctor, Rev. Wilson Henderson, and Rev. Jason Beck. Burial will follow at Polk Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be Friday, September 4, 2015 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Williams Funeral Home Columbia and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until service time at the church.

Nieces and Nephews will serve as pallbearers. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of Highland Park Baptist Church and former employees of Victor (Stauffer) Chemical and Columbia Gulf Transmission Company.

Memorials may be made to Highland Park Baptist Church, 1800 Highland Ave. Columbia, TN 38401.

She was a 1949 graduate of Hay Long High School in Mount Pleasant, TN and Columbia Business College. After graduating business school she began her career with Victor Chemical Company (Stauffer) in Mount Pleasant. In 1953 she accepted a position with Columbia Gulf Transmission Company where she served as executive secretary until her retirement in 1998. She also worked with her husband in the evenings and weekends at his grocery store on South Main Street for many years.

In addition to her husband, Frank McBride, Jr. she is survived by her brother, Wayne Smith of Panama City, FL; sisters, Martha (Randy) Jackson and Shirley Smith, both of Mt. Pleasant; sisters-in-law, Ernestine Smith of Columbia and Pat Smith of Mt. Pleasant.
She was preceded in death by her Parents, brothers, J. L. “Chicken” Smith, Billy Hugh Smith, and sisters Carolyn Smith Sisk, and Dorothy Smith Hines.

“Cat” loved keeping up and taking care of her family members, especially her husband, Frank McBride, Jr. She loved her nephews and nieces like they were her children. They include Jeff (Tammie) Sisk, Dr. Tony (Luranne) Smith, Mark Hines, Tim (Tomi) Smith, Debbie Sisk (Tim) Vincent, Scott (Beth) Jackson, Brian Jackson, and Amy Smith (Harold) Hinson, as well as several great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.
“Aunt Cat loved to shop and share the bargains she found. It wasn’t unusual for a pair of shoes to arrive in the mail, and they were on sale of course. Or, you might come home to find a roll of paper towels on your door step – Aunt Cat had stopped by,” according to her niece Debbie Vincent.

“Cat” loved following sports, especially the Tennessee Volunteers. She enjoyed Tennessee Football and both the men and women’s basketball teams as well as the Tennessee Titans. Pat Summitt, Bruce Pearl and Jeff Fisher were among her favorite coaches.

Over the years there were many family get-togethers and “Cat” was in charge of organizing them all. She became affectionately known as the “president of the family”.

“Cat” loved her family and friends and taking care of them was something she knew how to do! She gave her time and many talents to help them all. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry, picked up and delivered groceries, watered flowers, made hospital visits and phone calls and sent cards and letters.

She was a busy person and sometimes reaching out to family didn’t occur until after bedtime; therefore it wasn’t unusual to receive a phone call after 11:00 p.m. She looked after everyone for so long and those calls will be missed by her family.

Williams Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.williamsfh.com .