Maria Brannan Smith

With profound sadness and deep love, we announce the passing of Maria Brannan Smith, a cherished mother, mamaw, sister, aunt, and friend, who left her earthly home on August 1, 2025. She was a guiding light in our lives — a woman of faith, strength, compassion, and boundless love.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 a.m. Monday morning, August 4, 2025, at Santee Methodist Church with interment following in the Santee Methodist Church cemetery. Brother Arvis Wiggins will officiate, assisted by Brother Tom Jackson and Brother Neal Breeland. Saulters Moore Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

The family will receive friends Sunday evening, August 3, at Saulters Moore Funeral Home from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Visitation will resume Monday morning at Santee Methodist Church at 9:00 a.m. until the hour of service at 10:00 a.m.

Maria will be carried to her final rest by those honored to serve as pallbearers, including Glenn Graves, John Clark, Micah Wiggins, Scottie Purvis, Zack Jackson, and Jacob Jackson.

Maria’s greatest joy and calling in life was teaching. She spent 25 years in the classroom, shaping young minds and encouraging every student to believe in their own potential. Her love of learning was contagious, and she had a gift for making people feel seen, valued, and capable. Even after retiring, she remained a teacher at heart — offering life lessons, gentle guidance, and wisdom to those around her. Family was the center of Maria’s life. She was a devoted mother who led by example, a proud grandmother and great-grandmother who celebrated every milestone, and a loyal sister and aunt who held family traditions close. Her kindness extended far beyond her relatives — she had a way of making everyone feel like family. Maria’s life was centered on Christ, and her mission was to reflect His love in everything she did. She shared her faith not only in words, but through her actions — by serving others, praying faithfully, offering grace and encouragement to those around her, and blessing everyone with her home-cooked meals…ya’ll know the rolls and biscuits I’m talking about! Whether in her classroom, her home, or her community, Maria lived with grace, humility, and purpose. She believed in lifting others up and in leaving the world better than she found it. Her legacy is not only in the lessons she taught, but in the love she gave so freely.

She is preceded in death by: grandparents Ella and Earnest Rogers, paternal grandparents Camie Celeste and Horace Brannan, father Emory Brannan, mother Ernestine Brannan Wiggins, loving husband Charles Smith, baby daughter Charlette Marie Smith, and sister Regina Eubanks. She is survived by: daughter Debbie Fortenberry, son Tony (Cindi) Smith, grandchildren Ryan (Amber) Fortenberry, Shane (Randi) Fortenberry, Brett Smith, and Cassie Smith, great-grandchildren Eddie, Luci, Easton, and Tate, siblings Joye Jackson, Dotsy Clark, Gerald (Edna) Wiggins, Connie (Earl) Purvis, Arvis (Synithia) Wiggins, aunts Mary Johnson, Lilith Rogers and Francis Holifield, along with many extended family members, friends and former students who will carry her memory in their hearts. Though she may be gone from our sight, she will never be gone from our hearts. Her love, her lessons, and her light will live on in each of us.

Online condolences and a guest registry are available at www.saultersmoorefuneralhome.com