Constance "Connie" Roberta McCord

Constance Roberta McCord

It is with great sadness that our beloved Mother, Constance known as "Connie" passed away on Monday, December 16, 2024, at the age of 87, after suffering a prolonged illness during the last 4 years. 

Connie was Born July 12th, 1937, in Takoma Park, Maryland. Connie was the oldest of 6 Children of Earl Johnston Smith and Virgil Constance Childs, both deceased.

Our Mom was married to our Father, Terrence known as "Buddy" or "Terry" Edward McCord for over 60 years. Her beloved Husband passed away in January 2017 at the age of 83.

Mom is survived by her 3 Children, Terri Grayson and her Husband, Richard Grayson, Karen McCord, and Michael McCord. She is also survived by her 2 Sisters, Nancy Buzolich and Judith Newsome and her Husband, Frank Newsome and Brother, Robert Smith. Her Sister Elizabeth Brungard and Brother Richard Smith are deceased. She was an Aunt to Kellie Sineni and Jenna Vari. 

Mom never had the pleasure of having any Grandchildren, but you couldn't tell her that, Her Grandchildren were her Dogs named Benjamin, and Blake. They are Schipperkes and they loved her, and she loved them as if they were her Children. After Benjamin passed away, we had to look to find another Schipperke, They are very difficult Breeds to find, but with my detective skills, I found one and after his own plane ride, he fit right in.

Mom and Dad loved to go on Vacation to the Casinos in Biloxi and as far as the East Coast to New Jersey. They went on Vacation with their Best Friends Ailene & Chuck Goding. They had some of the best times together. Ailene was Mom's Childhood Friend, she sadly passed away 2 years ago. They all loved shopping in the Antique Stores along the way. They both collected Royal Doulton Figurines, few people even know what they are now, but they were very special to Dad. He was stationed in England while in the Air Force. He would tell me how he would walk down the cobblestone streets of England during his lunch just to window shop for the next one he wanted to add to his Collection. Royal Doultons were made in England. Today while going through Mom's things, I found the last piece of paper written in his handwriting with the name of a Royal Doulton named HN1870 Little Lady Make Believe. I finally found her, it was a very old piece and hard to find. Unfortunately, I was never able to give it to him before he passed away in January 2017

Connie was a stay-at-home Mother until we reached the age to go to School. One of her first jobs was working part-time at JC Penny's in the Gift Wrap Dept. This was at Northgate Shopping Center, On nights she got home early or on the Weekends, Mom would stop at the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts which was right next to Northgate on Florida Ave, believe it or not, they are still open. They still flash the sign that says, "Hot Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Now". When they were freshly made, they were so good. That was our Treat if we had done all our Homework and done our Chores. Can you believe that in 1937 they cost only a Quarter/$.25 for an entire dozen of their Glazed Doughnuts, today they cost about $15 for that same dozen.  

Mom was so good at wrapping everyone's Christmas Presents, that people stood in line to request that only Connie wrap their precious special Christmas Gifts, She even had a newspaper article written about her. This Gift-Wrapping ability never left her, and for years everyone in the Family would ask Mom if she would wrap their Christmas Gifts. We would all gather together, and wrap presents for hours.

It's almost sad that Gift Wrapping has gone by the way of placing the Gift inside of a Gift Bag, Somehow, it's not quite the same as a beautiful box wrapped with beautiful paper and handmade bows, there was no placing a stick and peel bow on such a beautiful box. I often think of those days, Mom continued doing this for the family for many years.

Another memory that means so much to me is that Mom would often read to me. I was the first born and I loved that special time together that we shared. As Mom got older, I found a Beautiful Nursery Rhyme Book on Ebay. It had thick colorful paper and golden gilded edges. The words were large enough that Mom could still read them to me when I spent time with her during Covid. 

During the last 4 years in May of 2020, Mom never recovered from a surgery to remove a large Hernia pressing against her Esophagus causing her discomfort. But the sad part was the Surgery caused her much worse side effects than before the surgery. This was the beginning of Mom's declining health. She ended up being not able to eat and got very weak, therefore she didn't do well with Physical Therapy. Once she came home, she was basically bedridden for the rest of her life.

Karen became her live-in Caregiver. This was a tremendous responsibility for Karen, who had retired with the School District after 42 years as a Safety Inspector. I'm still working in the School District for 45 years and would spend Saturday and Sunday with Mom.

In the beginning it took some nursing Mom back to eating, Karen did an amazing job with our Mother and each time she was nursed back to Health during the last 3-1/2 years.

I would find Movies that Mom would like to watch with me when I came over. She loved Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall and her favorite was Rita Hayworth. I would look up the Movie and read all about the movie plot and special trivia ahead of time, so I could keep the conversation going between us. I would also read her parts of the Nursery Rhymes and let her finish them. She still remembered all of them.

Mom took another turn for the worse around Mother's Day in 2024. This one was different from past times. Each Month, Mom would continue to get weaker. 

While we will miss her presence in our Lives, her Memories will live within our hearts. We Love you Mom 💖