Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
Mamie Lamont Kinnison Smith, 84, died after a short illness surrounded by family in Houston, Texas on July 21, 2026. Her family called her “Mimi,” “Red,” “Sister.” She was celebrated for her thick red hair, deeply intelligent sense of humor, and knock-your-socks-off dancing skills.
In her youth, she attended all night dances in crinoline-lined dresses with full skirts that swung to early rock bands with names like the “Red Tops” in the Mississippi Delta. She loved to dance the bop, in particular, and cherished songs by Chubby Checker, Elvis, and Chuck Berry.
A Hinds Community College Hi-Stepper, she was also later, in her thirties, featured on “An Hour on the 50s,” a well-known locally produced television and radio program in Jackson.
When she helped move her niece to college in New Orleans, she sang the Fats Domino tune “Walking to New Orleans” as they drove South. Well into her fifties, she famously told a band in the small hours of the morning to keep playing because she wasn’t finished dancing. Her beloved husband Walter and their friends found another dance floor for her to keep going.
Mamie’s love of music and humor and stories was contagious and spilled right into her love of bright colors, sparkle, and fashion. She was the kind of woman who had loose diamonds in her drawer. She wore rhinestone-studded jeans, and shimmering eye shadow that drew out her emerald green eyes.
She spent her career at the Mississippi Highway Department where she was the only woman section chief and supervised the most employees of any chief at the time. After she retired, she stayed connected with lifelong friends by playing Bunco regularly. They called their group “The Blings” after the trail of sparkles they left in their wake on their travels, including trips to New York City and New Orleans.
Mamie was born on January 22, 1942 in Yazoo City, Mississippi to David G. “Sonny” Kinnison, a cattle dealer, and Norma Everett Kinnison, a hospital nurse, and ten years later her little brother David was born with whom she remained close throughout her life.
She married Joseph Morris Goad in 1965 and together they had two children in Jackson. After their relationship ended, she married Walter Berry Smith in 1980 and they were inseparable until his death in 2024. They settled in Magee where Walter’s family had a farm.
For their honeymoon, they took a motorcycle ride across the country. In the photographs, they look like the picture of American beauty – her windblown red hair and his black mustache with sprawling western vistas on display behind them. They laughed day and night. Together, they raised four children and later doted on their six grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Sonny and Norma Kinnison; brother-in-law, James T. Smith and sister-in-law, Betty Smith.
Mamie is survived by her daughter Jo Claire Yeter (Dago Navarro), son Sam Goad (Maggie), stepsons Neil Patrick Smith (Bliss) and Walter B. “Bo” Smith, Jr. (Shannon), grandchildren Jon Taylor Porter (Nancy), Kaplan Yeter, Abby Goad, Emily Goad, Lauren Anne Smith, and Olivia Smith, her brother David Kinnison (Sherrie), niece Jessica Kinnison and brother-in-law, Steve Dale Smith (Sheila).
Visitation for family and friends will be held on Wednesday, July 29, at Tutor Funeral Home in Magee, MS from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM. The service will be in the chapel of Tutor Funeral Home at 12:00 PM with Bro. Jay Wesbrooks officiating. Interment will follow at Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery.
Please do not wear dark clothing. We will honor Mamie’s memory by wearing her favorites: bright colors and bling.
