Marceline Lide Banks "Marcie" Smith

Marceline Lide Banks Smith, known as Marcie by all who knew and loved her, passed away on December 21, 2025, at the age of 103, just two months shy of 104. Marcie lived through extraordinary times, and she lived them fully. Her life should have been a book, but she never slowed down long enough to write it. It was easier to live it-and live it she did.
Marcie was born on February 22, 1922 (2-22-22), in the small town of Camden, Arkansas, to Montrose Graham Lide and Ethel Coleman Lide, a second-generation Camden family rooted in Arkansas pioneer stock. She came into the world at the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, and she grew up in the decade that led into the Great Depression-an experience that left a deep and lasting impression on her and her brother. The family faced real strains, but hunger was not one of them, thanks to a big garden and fruit orchard. Marcie and her only sibling, Jimmy, two and a half years her senior, always had plenty to eat and plenty to share with others who had less. And thanks to her mother's gifted, creative sewing-repurposing and making do-Marcie, a pint-sized fashionista in the making, never lacked something nice to wear.
Marcie cherished the memories of her childhood, shaped in large part by her very independent mother, who she said "never tried to hold me down." She spent blissful summers on the shores of Mustin Lake and along the Ouachita River-places that became a kind of sacred ground for her, and a natural playground where she developed a love of swimming that stayed with her for life. By the age of fourteen, she had swum three-quarters of a mile across the lake, a milestone that foreshadowed her determination and her appetite for goals.
Her teenage years held the simple pleasures of that era-friends, parties, and dances. She graduated from Camden High School in 1939, and soon after experienced a moment of pure fun and triumph when she was crowned a bathing beauty at the Monticello Tomato Festival. Combining her love of swimming with her flair for performance, she executed a graceful dive into the pool-an act that caught the eye of an Arkansas Gazette photographer. The photo later ran with the caption, "A Bathing Beauty Who Swims!"
Marcie spent two years at Christian College, a women's institution in Columbia, Missouri (chosen, in part, for its indoor pool), and then transferred to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where she studied Spanish. World War II began during her junior year, but she still described her university years as happy ones. She was a proud Chi Omega, and her leadership showed early; she served as house manager in her final year. Later, she would return to Chi Omega life as a House Mother-coming full circle in her commitment to the sorority and to young women finding their footing in the world.
In 1943, Marcie completed her studies at the University of Arkansas, earning her degree in Spanish. Around that time, she met Samuel "Bud" Banks, a flight instructor stationed at Camden Army Airfield, and the two were married in 1944. They settled in Dumas, Arkansas, and began their family on the Banks family farm, welcoming three sons.
As her children grew, Marcie brought her love of language into the classroom, beginning at Dumas High School as an English teacher. With time and persistence, she built a Spanish program there-enriching her students' lives with a language and a world larger than their own. Her commitment to Spanish didn't stop at the classroom door; summers often found Marcie and her students in Mexico, deepening their skills through immersion and experience.
After raising her family, Marcie pursued and completed a master's degree in Spanish, including a month-long immersion in Madrid. She spent additional summers in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Madrid, always strengthening her conversational Spanish and feeding her love of travel and culture. Her teaching journey wove through Dumas, then Shreveport, Louisiana, and on to Magnolia, Arkansas. Her dedication to education and the Spanish language ultimately included a tenure at what is now known as Southern Arkansas University.
In later years, she married Wilburn Smith, who passed away in 1988. Marcie chose to remain in Magnolia after his passing. But when her beloved brother, Jimmy Lide-her lifetime confidante, traveling companion, and closest anchors-passed away in 1994, Marcie moved to Little Rock, where she remained until her death.
In Little Rock, Marcie began teaching Spanish at LifeQuest, a senior adult education program, and she continued teaching for more than twenty years, saying, "It's fun and it keeps me connected with the language, so I don't forget it." Many who took her course stayed for years and became friends. A lifelong Methodist, she remained active at St. James United Methodist Church. A lover and supporter of the arts, she volunteered at what was then the Arkansas Art Center and supported the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
Marcie stayed in contact with close friends from every stage of her life and also became a vibrant part of the community at Windsor Court in Little Rock. Her friends there threw a big party for her 100th birthday-her second 2-22-22-which was featured on a local television station. Her sons held a large celebration for her at The Capital Hotel as well, attended by friends far and wide that Marcie had curated over a lifetime. Her centennial year also brought recognition through an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
In 2023, Marcie hosted her family for Thanksgiving weekend at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, where her son Dwight lives. She loved orchestrating big events, especially when it meant gathering up her family, especially her great-grandchildren.
Marcie moved to The Blake in 2024, keeping an active social calendar. At 102, she was more than a little peeved when she didn't pass the driving test and lost her license. She was ready to renew for four more years! She told her son Dwight that if she just studied harder and took it again, she was sure she'd pass. Dwight, who lived in California, stayed with his mother for several months in 2024 and was by her side most of 2025 as she transitioned out of independence and experienced failing health. Her oldest son, Bill, and his wife, Annette, made frequent visits, as did grandchildren. Just a week before her death, Marcie was able to meet her newest great-grandchild-the eighth-by FaceTime and welcome little Banks Montgomery Monroe to the world.
Preceding Marcie in death were her parents, Montrose Graham and Ethel Mae Lide of Camden, Arkansas, and her brother, Jimmy Lide, of Detroit. Five years earlier, on the same date Marcie passed away, she lost her beloved second son, Samuel "Sam" Lide Banks.
Marcie is survived by her sons Bill Banks and his wife Annette, and James "Dwight" Banks and his wife Cheryl. She was blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including Alexander "Zan" Banks and his wife Jeanna, and their son Harrison; Lide Goodwin and her husband Charles, and their two children, Stewart and Eloise; and Sibley Schlaudecker and her husband Chris, and their daughter, Katie Sib. Marcie is also survived by her granddaughter Adriana Banks Monroe and her husband Mark, children of her late son Sam and his former wife Adriana Longoria, and by Adriana and Mark's children, Adrianita and Banks Montgomery. Dwight and Cheryl's sons, Sean and Chad, also survive her.
Marcie graced this world with her presence for more than a century, leaving behind echoes of laughter, lessons imparted, lives touched, and a breadth of experiences that many could only dream of. From the groves, lakes, and rivers of Camden to the classrooms where she inspired countless minds, Marcie's life was marked by dedication, adventure, and deep loyalty to the people she loved. She traveled the world with her brother and with friends. She was a devoted educator, a loving matriarch, and a cherished friend. She embodied the spirit of a Dylan Thomas poem: "Do not go gentle into that good night-Old age should burn and rave at close of day-Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Marcelline Lide Banks Smith did not go gently-she drank life down to the last sweet drop. Her light will remain, much like stars that, though extinguished, continue to grace the night with their light. Her light was liberally and generously shared and is now carried within all who knew her. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com