Paulette Cary Mason Smith, 69, of Falling Waters, W.Va., formerly of Stafford County and Beckley, W.Va., went to be with her Lord and Savior after a long battle with primary pulmonary hypertension on Tuesday, July 3, 2012, at home with her husband by her side.

She had been under hospice care for the last several months. Born Oct. 17, 1942, in Beckley, she was the daughter of the late Paul Maynard Mason and Pansy Naomi Rinehart Mason.

Paulette grew up in East Gulf and Midway, W.Va. She was a 1960 graduate of Sophia High School, Sophia, W.Va., where she was active in the Pep Club, Science Club and Tri-Hi-Y Club. She played the flute and was a member of the band for three years. Paulette was a flag girl and in her senior year served as head twirler majorette. She was an all-state band member for a year. She was a cast member in the junior and senior class plays. She was first attendant to the 1959 Sophia High School Carnival Queen. The Beckley newspaper, The Raleigh Register, selected her as Teen of the Week of June 24, 1959.

Paulette graduated from Beckley College in 1962 with an associate degree in secretarial science. She was employed as the secretary for the Beckley detachment of the West Virginia State Police. She married Larry Eugene Smith of Beckley on Aug. 11, 1963.

In the early years of her marriage, after working as a secretary at RCA Service Co., Alexandria, Paulette devoted her time to raising her two young sons, Larry Eugene Smith II and Christopher Paul Smith. After her sons started school, she worked outside the home again in various occupations, but excelled in the listing and selling of real estate. She attended numerous real estate schools and seminars such as the National Institute of Real Estate and Financing, Time Management and Research and National Institute of Real Estate Brokers. She also completed courses in interior design and decorating and computer programs such as Windows, Microsoft Word and spreadsheets.