Stormy Smith Jameson honored with scholarship in her name

Known as perhaps one of the top athletes in school history and certainly one of the best volleyball players to play for the school, the late Stormy Smith Jameson has been honored with the establishment of a scholarship at her alma mater, North Lamar High School in Paris, Texas.

The Stormy Smith Memorial Scholarship offered through the North Lamar Education Foundation was established and initially seeded with $1,500 by Stormy’s aunt and uncle, Stan and Melissa Cavender of Lovell, hoping to provide an opportunity for North Lamar athletes to play a sport in college as Stormy did. An endowment is being established to fund the scholarship in future years.

The former head volleyball coach at Lovell High School, Stormy Jameson died November 23, 2025, at the New Horizons Care Center in Lovell following a several-month battle with cancer. 

Stormy is a 2005 graduate of North Lamar High School, where she was a three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and track and field. After graduation, she attended Grayson County College in Sherman, Texas, to play volleyball, and when the school cancelled the program, she moved on to Paris Junior College as a member of the school’s inaugural volleyball squad. She was the first player to sign with the school and went on to earn most valuable player honors. 

After a year at Paris Junior College, she received a scholarship to play volleyball at Division II Oklahoma Panhandle State University and played at OPS for two years before graduating in 2009 with a degree in business and marketing. While attending school at OPS, she met a baseball player named Michael Jameson. They were married on June 12, 2009, and made their home in Lovell, where she resided until her death.

Jameson became the LHS head varsity volleyball coach in 2010 and coached the Lady Bulldogs to a second-place finish at State in 2011 and a state championship in 2012, stepping down about three years later.

She was named Class 2A West Coach of the Year in 2012 and 3A West Coach of the Year in 2015 and returned to the team in 2021 and coached three more years.

High school standout

Stormy was a top athlete for the North Lamar High School Panthers, excelling in volleyball and basketball and also competing in track. As a senior in volleyball, she was the team Most Valuable Player, the District 12-4A MVP and the All-Red River Valley All-Around Player, and she won the All-Around Pantherette Award. As a junior she was the All-Red River Valley MVP, the North Lamar MVP, the District 10-3A Most Valuable Middle Blocker and honorable mention all-state.

She was All-Red River Valley first team as a sophomore, was named North Lamar Defensive Player of the Year and was named District 10-3A First Team. As a freshman, she was named the District 14-4A Newcomer of the Year, the North Lamar Defensive Player of the Year and the All-Red River Valley Newcomer of the Year.

Stormy received numerous awards and honors in basketball, as well.

Coaches recall Stormy

“Stormy was an amazing athlete, but more than that, she was an amazing person,” said former North Lamar head volleyball coach Tammie Bates, who coached her during her freshman through junior seasons. “Before Stormy began high school, she attended numerous volleyball camps administered by me and our coaching staff, and she also played junior high volleyball for North Lamar ISD (Independent School District), so I knew the talent and potential that Stormy had coming into high school. 

“Stormy loved life, hard work and celebrating successes. Even as a freshman playing at the varsity level Stormy owned the court, and her excitement for an ace, a kill, a block or a win was contagious and inspiring, and it didn’t matter if it was performed by her or a teammate. Her display of triumph was just as intense. (She led the team in kills and blocks in most games.)”

Bates said Stormy was a dream to coach, noting, “Stormy was the athlete any coach would love to have on her team. She was disciplined, committed, loyal, self-driven, team-oriented and a team leader. She had natural athletic ability and rare talent. Stormy was a leader on the court and in the classroom, as she was named a Texas Scholar and an Honor Graduate (top 10% of her graduating class). During Stormy’s high school volleyball career, she led our teams through multiple post-district playoff games and back-to-back regional tournaments. 

“Even though Stormy was intelligent and a great athlete, her amazing character took her far beyond what others might assume. She never met a stranger, and all who knew Stormy loved her. She strived to make other classmates and athletes (often younger) feel welcome and included them in whatever activity was occurring that day or in planning future events. Stormy in general loved people and wanted to make them feel valued, wanted and loved. Anyone could see Stormy’s enthusiasm for life and those that she loved through her beautiful sparkling eyes.”

Wrapping up, Bates continued, “Stormy had a drive for excellence – not perfection, just excellence. Whatever Stormy touched or was involved in was made better through her involvement. Stormy Smith’s legendary career as one of North Lamar’s most talented volleyball players is noted in the hallways of the high school and in the gym as her name is displayed in banners above the bleachers for all to see.

“Stormy Smith was an exceptional athlete, exceptional person and exceptional friend.”

Stormy’s high school basketball coach, Sheila Daughtrey, had similar accolades for the former North Lamar standout.

“Stormy Smith Jameson was every coach’s dream athlete/student/person,” Daughtrey said. “Stormy was beautiful inside and outside. She loved to compete, and she loved her teammates, family and friends. She was my team leader. I could depend on her to do the right thing and lead our team.

“I coached her in basketball and track for four years at North Lamar. She always, and I mean always, put herself out there to work hard, lead positively and compete at her highest level.”

Stormy was a true leader, Daughtrey said.

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer during her senior year, she was my hero,” Daughtrey said. “I depended on her to continue to lead our team. She was a part of many championships at North Lamar. Stormy would do anything for me, and I loved her beyond words.

“Stormy was loved by all that knew her – adults, fans, classmates and teachers. She loved and hugged our young Pantherettes. They adored her and strived to be the athlete she was. Stormy deserves any honor that can be bestowed upon her. She is an angel in the arms of Jesus. She is an angel for us all.”

A teammate remembers

Celeste Coward Withers, Stormy’s best friend and high school teammate, noted that Stormy was an amazing athlete who excelled in every sport she played.

“All the coaches loved her,” Withers said. “She was always so coachable and respectful. We were usually captains or co-MVPs at everything, but she was the real leader. She was always showing me and everyone else how to compete. She played on varsity basketball and volleyball her freshman year. That’s a big deal at the 4A school we went to.

“As we got older, Stormy always made it a point to adopt the younger players who joined our team and take them under her wing and make sure they felt like they were part of the team family, because she knew what it was like to be the young one with a group of older girls when she was the freshman on the team. She’d offer up rides, invite them along and give friendship to them all.”

Withers provided some details about Stormy’s play at North Lamar.

“In basketball, the girl would always score double digits, most of the time in the 20s,” she said. “Her goal was always to get double digits in points and double digits in assists, and I can’t remember her not ever making her goal, except one game her dad told her if she scored a certain number of points (I think it was 30), he would buy her a new car, and she missed by ONE point. She’d probably throw in that we always scored 100 points in our games. She loved that, and I heard her mention it often as we got older.

“I was a little bit in my own world all of the time and didn’t always keep my head on straight. Stormy would pull me over and say, ‘Hey, I need you to grab this many rebounds, or I need this many points from you.’ She always coached me and broke things down for me and kept me a little more focused. That was quite the task, and she was dang good at it.”

A top student, as well, Stormy could do it all, Withers said.

“The girl was good at everything,” she noted. “She was smart, beautiful, athletic, and she could draw anything you asked her to. She had a natural artistic talent that amazed me. Stormy was smart, too. She was a great student, and most of her teachers and coaches have reached out to me telling me how much they loved Stormy and her witty sense of humor in their classrooms.”

Withers said her friend was truly one of a kind.

“To know Stormy was to love her,” she said. “She was always quick to make a joke. Even when we were in some of the most intense, competitive situations when no one would dare break the silence in fear of our coaches, Stormy always found a way to crack a witty joke and make everyone laugh or gain a side eye and then a smile from the coach. Even in the hospital, I wanted to just break down and say how unfair everything was, and she just smiled and said everything will be OK and tried to keep me laughing.

“Most importantly, Stormy loved you as you were. She would never ask you to change or fix yourself before she handed you her love and friendship. She just gave it and accepted you for you, which is something I loved most about her.

“One of my friends messaged me after Stormy passed and said it best: Everyone that met Stormy loved her, and that is why it’s so hard for her to leave, because we just want to keep loving her here.”

The recipient

A current volleyball standout and graduating senior at North Lamar was the recipient of the first Stormy Smith Memorial Scholarship. Lilly Stewart was awarded the scholarship this spring.

“I am honored to receive the Stormy Smith Memorial Scholarship,” Stewart said. “Knowing that Stormy shared a love for athletics makes this recognition even more meaningful.

“I am thankful for Stormy’s family and everyone who continues to celebrate Stormy’s legacy by supporting students like me. I will carry this honor with me as I continue my education at Blinn College.”