Mary Anderson

Mary Anderson, age 73, a resident of Summers, Arkansas, passed away Sunday, January 30, 2022, at her home. She was born June 21, 1948, in Lincoln, Arkansas, the daughter of Edgar and Clara (Nichols) Smith.

Mary had a heart as big as the sky. You could never meet a more caring person. She and Andy married in 1966 and she spent 55 wonderful years with him. Her dedication and love never wavered. Though she worked may jobs over the years, they always came secondary to her job as a wife, mother and grandmother. Her career was to pay the bills so that she could spend her weekends at the racetrack watching those she loved do what they loved. She enjoyed years of racing with Andy and then became her grandson Aaron’s biggest fan. She wouldn’t miss a race. She was the rock in which her family could always depend on, and made sure that no matter where her family ventured they all knew where “home” was. She lived through her grandchildren and great grandchildren, they were her whole world. Her favorite times were Sunday dinners with her family, laughing, teasing and making memories. Her smile was a reflection of her heart and always present. That heart and smile will be forever missed from her place at the table.

She was preceded in death by her mother and stepfather, Clara E and Calvin Williams; her father, Edgar Smith; one brother, Gilbert Smith; and one son, John Wesley Anderson.

Survivors include her husband of 55 years, John “Andy” Anderson; two children, Mitchell Anderson and his wife Pam of Summers, Arkansas, Christy Lankford and her husband Chad of Roaring River, North Carolina; one stepdaughter, Judy Humphry of Stilwell, Oklahoma; 12 grandchildren Jacob Anderson, Aaron Moss, Kaitlyn Lankford, Dalton Lankford, Ashtin Lankford, Maicey Lankford, Wesley Anderson, Bradley Anderson, Susan Vaughn, Alisa Higgins-Ritter, Dana Brashear and Nicolette Humphry; and 11 great-grandchildren.

The family will have a private celebration of life at a later date.