Mary Anne Trull Smith

Mary Anne Trull Smith, 87, of Greenville, NC, formerly of Chester, SC, met her Lord and Savior and reached her eternal home in Heaven on Monday, June 30, 2025.

Mary Anne, beloved daughter of the late Rev. Clarence and Thelma Greene Trull was born on November 5, 1937 in Canton, NC. Her journey on this earth was one marked by love, compassion, and unwavering faith in God, and her passing has left a void in the heart of her family, friends, and many more whose lives were touched by her. Mary Anne had the ultimate privilege of being married to her best friend and working side by side with him as they ministered to the First Free Will Baptist Church family of Chester, SC for 23 years. Her ministry roles included: Sunday School Teacher, Church Secretary, Church Groundskeeper, Church Custodian, Christmas Program Director and Church Pianist. She also blessed her church with her talents as a vocalist when she sang with her husband and daughters. Her faithfulness in ministry also extended to serving the Free Will Baptist Association of South Carolina as the State Church Training Services (CTS) Director, State Ladies Auxiliary Director, State Beaver Creek Bible Institute Administrator and Co-Founder of the SC Free Will Baptist Newsletter. Throughout her life, Mary Anne also used her talents and gifts as a seamstress, gardener, baker and cake decorator to minister to others. After the loss of her husband, she became a faithful member of Chester’s First Church of the Nazarene and coveted her time with the ladies of the Mothers Class. Even after her move to Greenville, NC, the Mothers Class continued to faithfully minister to her through encouraging cards and phone calls until the time of her passing. Mary Anne was affectionately called Mrs. Smith, Mother and Maw-Maw by her church family as well as many others throughout the Chester community and Free Will Baptist denomination. Her skills as seamstress led to employment at Chester Sportswear and F. Schumacher and Company. A fun fact about her is she was an avid Atlanta Braves fan, taught her children how to perfect the tomahawk chop and managed to sneak in a bucket of KFC into the stadium like no other.

She is survived by her children Gary Bennett Smith, Sr. of Chester, Sharon of Greenville, NC, Sandra Haynes (Curtis) of Greenville, NC, Sonya Thomas (R. Steven) of Bentonville, AR; 13 grandchildren, Gary Bennett, Keely, Leslee, John, Jacob, Lacy, Leeza, Logan, Luke, Layton, Lexington, Lantsen, Lyric; and eight great grandchildren, Ivan, Annessa, Alex, Andrew, Lucas, Riley, Michael, and Melinda; a brother, Benjamin Trull of Canton NC; and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Rev. John Bennett Smith; son, Jonathan; granddaughter, Amanda Smith Wilson; and grandson, Curtis Haynes, Jr.; brothers, Charles and Clarence, Jr. and sisters, Muriel, Janet, Nancy and Freida.

The family will receive friends at the First Church of the Nazarene Chester, SC, on Saturday, July 5 at 10:30 AM.  The funeral service will immediately follow at 12:00 noon with Rev. Ralph Byars and Bro. Wayne Byars officiating. The burial will follow at Chester Memorial Gardens with her nephew, Dwight Daily officiating.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.barronfuneralhome.com.