Beryl Barron Smith

Mrs. Beryl Barron Smith 86, of Concord passed away in hospice care at home on Tuesday July 21st 2026 with her children at her bedside.

The daughter of George Leonard Barron, Sr. and Ruby Fay (McWhorter) Barron, she was born in 1940 at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta and grew up in East Point, Ga where she was part of a close-knit group of first cousins. Some of her earliest memories were of blackout practice during World War II, visits to relatives in rustic rural Georgia, chewing long stems of grass with her cousin Judy to make dipsticks for her great-grandmother's snuff, and spending many afternoons with her maternal grandmother "Ma Mac", whose house and exuberant personality she could describe in great detail even in her last years. She attended Russell (now Tri-cities) High School in East Point where she was a cheerleader for the football team. She met her future husband, Michael Smith of Austell, Ga., on a double date in Adams Park in Atlanta, where he was her friend's date. They were married in December 1959 in East Point and would remain married until Michael's death 63 years later. In December 1962 they moved from Georgia to Concord, NC where she spent the rest of her life.

In her younger days, she played piano and passed that skill and her spinet to her children. She passed her love of horses on to her daughters. She was also accomplished at needlepoint, receiving several prizes at the Cabarrus County Fair and producing many pieces that her children still cherish. She sewed clothing and Halloween costumes for her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed bowling and golfing with her friends and her husband. She was not known for long drives on the golf course but for being deadly ("up and down") once close to the green. When she and Michael played as a couple, she was definitely not the weaker partner. She was a fan of the Atlanta Braves since they moved from Milwaukee in 1966 and followed them on her phone with a magnifying glass even as her eyesight faded in her later years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother George Leonard "Bunky" Barron, Jr. of Tyrone, GA, and by her husband Michael Smith. She is survived by her three children: Michael Alan Smith of Seneca, SC, Collette Smith Martin (Wayne) of Concord, NC, and Kristy Smith Mason (Nate) of Concord, NC; six grandchildren: Joshua Mark Solomon, Chase Michael Solomon (Kaite), Leah Marie DiGeronimo (Alex), Marcus Lynn Mason (Bailey), Michael Scott Mason (Becca), and Michael Wayne Martin (Olyvia); and three greatgrandchildren: Richard Michael DiGeronimo, James Robert Mason, and Adalynn Mae Mason.

The family thanks the staff at Atrium Health Cabarrus as well as Hospice and Home Instead.

A celebration of the life of Beryl Barron Smith will be held at a later date.