How about "Lydia" by Karen Poston (Slaid Cleaves sang it, not sure who else might have) or "Mama's Hand" (It was hard to let go of Mama's hand...) that dates back to the early 1950s or 60s written by a lady whose name escapes me at the moment.

If you want sad but not really maudlin songs you have to look no further than Mudcat's own Jed Marum. "Mama's Lily" will tear your heart out and the fiddle music on "After the Dance," even without lyrics, is enough to sober up your mood so that the lyrics really hit home.