Mary Mason Smith Lyles

Mrs. Mary Mason Smith Lyles, 87, resident of the Mooresville Pike for over 50 years, died Tuesday, October 3, 2006 at Maury Regional Hospital. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church with Dr. Jim Hughes and Rev. Frank Smith officiating. Private family burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery. The family will visit with friends Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols and from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Thursday in the church atrium. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, 222 West Seventh Street, Columbia 38401. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. A native of Hickman County, she was the daughter of the late Frank "Red" Smith and Sara Cochran Smith. She was a descendant of one of the five families who left Kingstree, South Carolina in 1805 and settled in the Zion Community in Maury County in 1807. She came to Columbia in 1935 and was a 1936 graduate of Columbia Central High School. She was a member of Thomas McKissack Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, a volunteer with Maury Regional Hospital Auxilary for over 30 years, and a charter member of the Mayfield/Gray Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. She was a long-time member of the Maury County Historical Society and for several years a volunteer at the Maury County Archives, serving on the committee responsible for editing several books published by the archives. A life-long member of First United Methodist Church, she was a member of the Ayers-Whitney Sunday School Class and was active in United Methodist Women. An avid outdoor and sports enthusiast, she enjoyed basketball, fishing, hunting, birdwatching, and gardening her entire life. In 1938 she married Henry Nelson Lyles. Their union lasted 58 years until his death October 9, 1996. Survivors include her son, H. Nelson Lyles, Jr. of Columbia; two grandchildren, H. Nelson Lyles, III and Judith Ann Lyles Hunley of Columbia; a nephew, Dee (Mimi) Lineberger of Lebanon; a great-niece, Lucy (Mike) Tysinger; a great-great-niece, Keri Tysinger. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Sara Smith Lineberger and Thelma Smith.Active pallbearers are Rick Garrett, Dee Lineberger, Johnny Satterwhite, David Pinter, Bob Duncan, James Owen Prince, Mack Holt, and Jack Craig. Honorary pallbearers include the Ayers-Whitney Sunday School Class, Maury Regional Hospital Auxiliary, Cleo Mayfield and Poppy Carden, and Page Chamberlain.