Sister Jean Marie Smith, SSND

Sister Jean Marie Smith, SSND, a School Sister of Notre Dame, passed away on Nov. 27, in Covington. Prayer/Sharing will take place at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m. followed by Mass of Resurrection at 11a.m. with burial at School Sisters of Notre Dame Cemetery, Chatawa, MS. Please keep Sr. Jean Marie, her family and the School Sisters of Notre Dame in your prayers.

The oldest of four girls was born to Edna Marie (Rodriguez) and Jean Francois Smith on Dec. 10, 1945, in Baton Rouge.  She was baptized at St. Joseph Church (now Cathedral) and named Linda Ann.  Her father was serving in the Army, so Linda Ann and her mother lived with her mother’s family until her father was discharged from the Army.

Linda Ann attended St. Anthony’s Grade School staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.  The family moved when she was in the fourth grade.  She completed her elementary education at St. Gerard Majella School which was also staffed by the SSND.  In the seventh grade, she seriously thought about becoming a SSND.  With the guidance and support of her parish priest, she asked her parents’ permission to attend the Aspiranture at St. Mary of the Pines, Chatawa for her high school education.

Linda Ann received the candidate’s veil at her home parish on Sept. 6, 1963. She was received into the novitiate on July 28, 1964, and given the name Jean Marie in honor of her parents. She professed first vows on July 29, 1965, and final vows on July 29, 1970.

Sister Jean Marie received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Dallas in 1967; a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of South Alabama, Mobile, in 1976, and a master’s degree in religious studies from the University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX in 1985.

She began her teaching career with special education students at Chinchuba Institute in Marrero, in 1967, and ended her teaching career at Notre Dame Special School in Dallas in 2018.  During the intervening years, she taught at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Crowley; Our Lady of Lourdes, Mobile; St. Mary, Gainesville, TX; St. Gerard Majella and Redemptorist Junior High School in Baton Rouge; St. Gerard Majella, San Antonio; St. Mary, Natchitoches, LA; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Dallas.

She also served in pastoral ministry at Holy Redeemer, Odessa, TX and Immaculate Conception, Rio Grande, TX.  She was a DRE at Mary, Mother of the Church, Brownsville, TX; served as a staff member at the Christian Renewal Center, Dickinson, TX; a secretary for the Diocese of Laredo, Laredo, TX; receptionist and driver at St. Mary of the Pines, Chatawa; community service at the North American Postulancy in Chicago, Illinois. 

Following a sabbatical in 2018 at Sancta Maria in Ripa, St. Louis, Missouri, she moved to St. Anthony’s Gardens, Covington in 2019.  As her health declined, she moved to Trinity Trace Community Care Center, Covington, in August 2025.  In late November 2025, she was placed on hospice and passed away peacefully in the morning of Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 2025.

Sister Jean Marie served in a variety of ministries during her 60 years of religious life. Each new ministry gave her a deeper appreciation of life in her response to God’s call to her.  She was creative and readily adapted to diverse cultures and new challenges.