Priscilla May Smith of East Lansing died on Sunday, January 3, 2016, after battling ALS for four and a half years with unfailing courage, faith, and joy. Her memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 23, at the Capital City Vineyard Church, 1635 Coolidge Road, East Lansing.
Priscilla was born on May 16, 1955, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, the eldest of five children of James and Nancy Godfrey. She graduated in 1972 from Richelieu Valley Regional High School in McMasterville, Quebec, and in 1975 received a diploma in Bible from l’Institut Biblique Béthel in Sherbrooke. She studied secretarial methods at Champlain Regional College in Lennoxville, Quebec from 1975-77. In 1991 she completed a certificate in interior design by correspondence from the Sheffield School of Interior Design in New York City.
She worked as a secretary for the Metropolitan Bible Church of Ottawa, Ontario; the First Baptist Church of Williamstown, Massachusetts; Gordon College; and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She did apprenticeships with several interior designers in Massachusetts: Susannah Chapman Interiors of South Hamilton; Innerspace Designs of Newton Highlands; and Day Interiors of Boxborough. She worked at Laura Ashley Shops in the Chestnut Hill Mall in both apparel and home decor. She studied watercolor painting with Ann Kristin Lindsay of Petersburgh, New York, and was a freelance seamstress and events florist.
But her main life’s work was as a ministry partner with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith, whom she married on May 23, 1981 at l’Église Baptiste Evangelique in Rock Forest, Quebec. Her ministry of hospitality and welcome was a vital complement to his work as a pastor and teacher. They served closely together in pastorates at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Ottawa, Ontario; the First Baptist Church in Newton Centre, Massachusetts; the First Baptist Church of Williamstown, Massachusetts; and University Baptist Church of East Lansing, Michigan. Most recently she worked together with him as a volunteer campus staff member with Graduate InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Michigan State University.
Priscilla drew her wide-ranging artistic gifts into her ministry work, creating beautiful, welcoming environments and making occasions special as a hostess; interior decorator; floral designer; baker and caterer; gardener and landscaper; seamstress; and watercolorist. She led the children in music—a special joy of hers—at each of the churches, and she always had a warm place in her heart for college and university students, both national and international. She delighted in using her interior design skills to help international students, on a shoestring budget, turn their campus apartments into true homes-away-from-home for the length of their stay in this country.
She is survived by her husband Christopher; her parents, James and Nancy Godfrey of North Hatley, Quebec; her sister Esther Roy of Sherbrooke; three brothers: Jonathan Godfrey of Sherbrooke, Stephen Godfrey of Lusby, Maryland, and Philip Godfrey of Sherbrooke; and numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nephews, and grand-nieces.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Dohnavur Fellowship, c/o Mrs. J.R. Sessions, 3737 West Lake Drive, Augusta GA 30907-9407. (Check memo should read “Priscilla Smith memorial.”)
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