Mrs. Mary K. Smith Rector Jemison established the Mary K. Smith Rector Scholarship to help students from Gilmer County pursue their higher educational goals. This fund was first established in 2005, and the first scholarships were awarded in 2006. The fund provides support to graduating seniors from Gilmer County High School who plan to attend an accredited college or university in West Virginia or to pursue vocational training.

Mrs. Jemison was born and raised in Gilmer County. Her parents were Dr. Waitman T. Smith and Grace Ann Smith, both natives of Roane County. She graduated from West Virginia University and taught in several Wood County schools over 34 years before retiring in 1985. Mrs. Jemison was a member of ADK Sorority; Order of the Eastern Star Chapter 14, White Shrine; Daughters of the American Revolution; Retired Employees; and the First Presbyterian Church in Parkersburg. She had one daughter, Mary Ann Rector Kraemer. Mrs. Jemison passed away in November 2009, having been preceded in death by her first husband John E. Rector and her second husband Russell Jemison.