EMMA JANE SMITH BOURGOIS, 93, of Paducah, Kentucky, died on the morning of December 8, 2023 at Rivercrest Place Assisted Living community. Born in Paducah, December 14, 1929, she was the daughter of the late Wallace Calvin Smith and Beatrice Blanche Goodman Smith.
Emma is survived by her only son, Louis George Bourgois, III (Robyn), of Lexington, Kentucky. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, John Wesley Smith and James Edwin Smith, sisters, Margaret Lucile Goodman Hotchkiss and Virginia Margaret Smith Goodloe, and her loving husband of 60 years, Louis George Bourgois, Jr.
Emma graduated in 1947 from Augusta Tilghman High School, where she played on the girl’s basketball team and sang in the girl’s glee club and mixed chorus (boys and girls voices). Her early work experience was in food catering with Edna M. Shemwell. In 1952, she became a uranium enrichment assay data processor in the Uranium Control department of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP), operated for the Atomic Energy Commission by the Union Carbide Nuclear Division. During her employment at PGDP, she sang in the Carbide Choral Group, which presented regular performances including a Christmas season program on WPSD-TV, in 1959. In August 1960, following the death of her father, she left the PGDP and became a full-time mother. In 1968, after courses of study in financial and cost accounting at Draughon’s Business College, she was employed as a bookkeeper for Davis Transport, Inc., a trucking company in Paducah, and continued working until her retirement in 1991.
Emma’s professional and community service was varied and reflected her deep devotion to her husband and his service activities. In 1961, when George was elected treasurer of the Paducah Section of his professional organization, the Instrument Society of America (ISA), she voluntarily served as its bookkeeper until her retirement from ISA service in June 2003. Her long service to the Paducah Section was recognized by the international organization when she was elected an Honorary Member of ISA with the citation,“for forty-two years of service, hard work, dedication, and loyalty to the Paducah Section of ISA - The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society.” She served as a devoted Scoutmaster’s wife during the late 1960s through the 1980s, supporting George’s Scouting activities and making possible his service to Boy Scouts of America Troops 7 and 200. In the 1980s through the 1990s, she often assisted George with duties related to his service as chapter vice president and events coordinator of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 807. During that time, she also served as a Senior Member of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary, Paducah Composite Squadron.
All who knew Emma were aware of her love of music and singing. That love manifested at Franklin Junior High School (1941-1944) and blossomed in the mixed chorus and girls glee club at Augusta Tilghman High School from 1944 until her graduation in May 1947. In May 1945, the mixed chorus sang Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Advent Cantata, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life), with the concert pianist and music faculty member at the George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Hubert Fitch. That work remained one of her lifelong favorites and its lyrics served as a sort of life verse, that is, her life’s blueprint:
Jesus remains my joy, the comfort and life’s blood of my heart,
Jesus defends me against all sorrows, he is my life’s strength,
the delight and sun of my eyes, my soul’s treasure, and joy,
therefore, I shall not let Jesus go from my heart and sight.
Emma was a devout woman-first, as a Methodist, from her childhood into her adult years. During her high school years and afterward, and until the early years of her marriage, she continued to sing in the Trinity Methodist Church Choir and as an alto soloist for special occasions at the church. When she married George, a Roman Catholic, they wanted to begin a family. But, at the time, she felt strongly that an interfaith family would not be cohesive. So, she decided her best path forward was to enter the Rite of Christian Initiation and convert to Catholicism to support her husband in his church work, cohere their future family, and then later become involved in the music ministry of her new church. When the young family of three fully joined St. Thomas More Catholic Church in 1964, Emma joined the St. Thomas More Choir under the direction of William “Bill” Havel. She remained an active member of the Choir for 56 years, until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced her self-isolation. Unfortunately, subsequent health issues prevented her return to the Choir.
When a fund was established for the Burton K. Tidwell pipe/digital organ to be installed at St. Thomas More, Emma felt so strongly about its role in the musical life of the Church, that she and George became significant donors to ensure its successful construction, installation, and dedication in November 2009. Every Mass and choral concert that she participated in since its dedication was a source of great pride for her. The organ they helped to build provides the tonal foundation for the beautiful voices of the Choir and continues to enrich the liturgical experience of the St. Thomas More congregation.
Emma passed away on December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day that she held most dear. A tribute to her enduring love for her family, extended family, dear friends, and her church, may be found in the verse of an unknown author: “Of all the blessings in heaven and on earth, there is none more beautiful than a Mother’s love.”
Visitation will be Tuesday, December 19, 2023 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Milner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah, 120 Memorial Drive, Paducah; prayers will be said at 4:45 p.m. by Rev. Brad Whistle, pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church. The celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 5645 Blandville Road, Paducah, on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Brad, celebrant. Burial will follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, 4149 Old Mayfield Road, Paducah.
The Bourgois family would like to thank the Rivercrest Place Assisted Living community administration and staff who cared for Emma, and the Professional Case Management staff who became part of the family-particularly Winter Fairfield, Emma’s personal care assistant. The family extends a special thanks to Fr. Brad Whistle and the eucharistic ministers of St. Thomas More Catholic Church who cared for her spiritual well-being while she lived at her long-time home on Shawnee Lane during her rehabilitation, and then at Rivercrest Place, 2021-2023.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Music Ministry of St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 5645 Blandville Rd. Paducah, KY 42001.
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