Paula Taft Mears

Memorial service for Paula Taft Mears, 70, of Pittsburg, will be 3:00 p.m., Saturday, May 3, 2025, at Erman Smith Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Kyle Smith officiating.  Mrs. Mears passed away Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in a Pittsburg hospital. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Erman Smith Funeral Home.

Paula Taft Mears was the baby of the family, born September 18, 1954, to Joseph “Calvin” and Lovelene Birdsong Taft. She fought and won her brief battle with metastatic cancer April 22, 2025, with her dearly beloved husband, Jimmy, by her side.

Over the course of the last week, family and friends shared personal stories of their memories with Paula. Here are just a few of those shared memories. She was the happy, always smiling candy and holiday toys lady at work. She was the one who refused to let a preacher decide what songs would be sung at a dear friend’s wedding. She was the aunt and great aunt that everyone loved. She was known as “Sis” to one of her sweet friends. She once borrowed her parents tank of a car, hit an already deceased horse in the road, went airborne, saw no damage to the car and returned it (somehow) in pristine condition… they were none the wiser. She was Kuku (grandmother in Hawaiian) to Sydney, Auggie, Mylo, and Stella. She had a beautiful singing voice and loved Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow. She raced dirt bikes and sang in dive bars and again… her parents were none the wiser.

By now you may have figured out the author of her obituary is her daughter, Valerie. As much as she might not wish to agree, a lot of my snarky sense of humor came from her. (Thanks Mom!)

The happiest I’ve ever seen my mother was on her wedding day. Mom was able to reconnect and marry her high school sweetheart, Jimmy Mears, in a ceremony shared by friends and family on April 10, 2021. He asked that I share the following story. When Mom learned of the unfortunate passing of Jimmy’s late wife, Sondra, she reached out on Facebook to express her condolences. Jimmy wrote her back and said, “Hi Paula. This is Jimmy.” Her response was no surprise to him, as she could be a bit of a jokester. She replied, “Jimmy who?” That story still makes him laugh. By marrying Jimmy, she gained another daughter, Tanya (Paul) Stinson and a son, Shane (Norma) Mears. She also gained a rather large extended family, and she loved them all so very much. The last four years of her life were some of the best years of her life.

Paula is survived by her daughter, Valerie Sanford, of Tyler, TX and her brother Larry (Linda) Taft, of Longview, TX. She is also survived by three nephews, Stephen (Michelle) Taft, of Longview, TX, Michael (Maria) Taft, of Longview, TX, and Greg (Stephanie) Miller, of Houston, TX. She was also deeply loved by her great nephews and nieces.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Calvin and Lovelene Taft and her sister, Teresa Miller.

There to greet her were her beloved pups, Chico and Bobby, and her grand pups, Sydney, and Auggie. She will ensure they have all the snackies and favorite toys that she possibly can now!

Visitation will be from 2:30 p.m., to service time Saturday, May 3, 2025, in the chapel.

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