PIKE COUNTY, — I loved and admired her from the first time we talked.

That was almost 30 years ago, and the feeling was still as strong recently for what would be the last time we spoke.

Martha Sue Smith was one of those rare people who define eloquence. It would be hard to find someone who did not like her.

I’m a word nerd, and yet I find it difficult to come up with enough adjectives to describe her extraordinary brilliance, indefatigable attitude and radiant charm.

I worked in print and broadcast media before getting into public relations. When I moved to Louisiana from the Land of Lincoln, my Missouri relatives said “Welcome to God’s country.” Martha Sue said “I have something you might be interested in.” How can you not be intrigued by such a greeting?

Thanks to my parents, I had always enjoyed a robust appreciation of history. But it was Martha Sue who cultivated that love.

She helped found the Louisiana Area Historical Museum in 1992 and served as its president until 2017. I’ve had that honor for more than three years now.

She and Jeanne Lovell organized the first Louisiana Mid-Town Church Walk in 1984. Martha Sue used a family heirloom bell that she rang when it was time to move to the next parish.

With Betty Allen, she wrote “Louisiana,” a spectacular showcase of the city’s history. You can still find it online.

She offered encouragement as I wrote my first book detailing the genius of Louisiana lawyer and 13th Amendment author John Brooks Henderson. I got to reciprocate when she wrote a book about her cats, Sid and Mr. Zook. I’ve written four more books since then, and I’m working on another.

Did you know that Louisiana had a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II? I didn’t…until Martha Sue told me. I made sure more people knew by writing newspaper articles.

She was in attendance to cheer when the history-based vintage baseball team on which I played held its first game, even when her Buick got dinged by a foul ball.

Though a mother of two and grandmother of three, she took special interest in my son, Adam, and shared my pride and joy when he became an Army paratrooper, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes to defend our great country. He’s stationed in Alaska, but I could sense the emotion when he said “She’s in a better place now.” Indeed.

Martha Sue was an inspiration in so many ways. Long after most people retire, she still worked in the media and was a part of many local organizations. Despite a busy professional and social schedule, she always had time for me.

“Hello, there,” she would cheerfully say when I called. “How are you and how’s Adam?”

Sometimes, I had a question about history. Once in a while, I had a quandary and needed advice. Other times, I just wanted to shoot the breeze. It didn’t matter. Like a good journalist, she always listened.

I find it hard to remember if we shared tears, though I’m sure it happened. The times when we laughed until our faces hurt far outpaced such moments. She considered it the highest praise when I said she was like a second mother, and she was among a handful of folks to whom I could never say “No.”

Martha Sue touched so many lives that the stories would fill untold volumes. You probably have at least one, and the next time you see me at the store or out and about, I’d enjoy hearing it.

Martha Sue was a steadfast friend. She made our lives incredibly better, and I am humbled to have known such an abidingly wonderful woman.

When she reluctantly decided to give up leading the church walk, she turned the bell over to me with the promise that I would use it until I, too, was ready to retire. Well, the hounds of hell could not pry it from my possession.

God rest your soul, MSS. And to use the phrase you offered to me so often: “Bless your heart.”

 

CUTLINE FOR PHOTO:

Martha Sue Smith at the Louisiana Area Historical Museum in 2017.