Mae Elizabeth (Smith) Parsons

Mae Elizabeth Smith was born to Rubell and James Smith on April 12, 1948, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She grew to be a great athlete, a loving sister, wife, mother, grandmother, businesswoman, and a patriotic American.

Her childhood was spent as a farm girl working on the family farm in Gray’s Creek, NC, with her three sisters, attending Mount Pisgah Church, graduating from Gray’s Creek High School and excelling in basketball and softball.

Upon graduating, Mae began her professional life as a businesswoman and began a new family tradition of innovation and service to the nation, when she joined Piedmont Airlines as an Airline Travel Agent in 1969. Mae worked fourteen years for Piedmont Airlines and US Airways, during which time she was instrumental in implementing several important operational innovations, to include fielding and training staff members on the first computerized airline reservation and ticketing system, and loading and unloading three new, higher capacity aircraft, the Fairchild F-27, the Japanese built YS-11 and the Boeing 737-200 jet aircraft. Mae was awarded numerous certificates of appreciation and cash awards for her outstanding service to the companies in a period of tremendous growth in the airline industry in America.

Mae Smith met and married Lt. Boyd Dale Parsons, Jr. in Fayetteville, NC in 1974. They had two sons, Brian Wesley and Gregory Scott Parsons. The new family travelled the world together for the next twenty-five years, living the Gypsy life of the military family and moving 18 times.

During the period 1989-1992, Mae worked in the Scheduled Airline Ticket Offices at Fort Bragg, NC, and Fort Campbell, KY, where she was afforded the opportunity to serve the American Armed Forces by providing commercial airline services to service men and women returning from combat in Panama and Kuwait. She cherished her important tasks to return these young men and women to their homes, families and loved ones after these two back-to-back combat deployments.  Mae continued her career another 13 years as a travel agent until the year 2005, when she retired.

In 1997, Mae went back to school to get her 4-year college degree and in May of 2002, graduated from Methodist University with a degree in Business Administration at 54 years of age.

Mae and Boyd remained happily married for almost 50 years until August 31, 2024, when she died of pneumonia at the age of 76 in Murfreesboro, TN.  She will be sorely missed.

Mae is survived by her loving husband, Boyd; her sons, Brian Wesley and Gregory Scott Parsons; granddaughter, Meghan Elisabeth, and a host of extended family and friends.

A memorial service will be conducted Saturday, October 5, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, 3350 Butler Nursery Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28306.  A committal service will follow at Lafayette Memorial Park, 2301 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28301. 

May God love her, bless her and keep her safe Forever and Always!

Online condolences may be made to www.jerniganwarren.com

Services provided by Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28301

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