Esther Rasmussen Smith

ATHENS - Esther Johanne Rasmussen Smith died peacefully on the morning of November 28, 2023, at her home in Athens, Georgia. She was preceded in death by her husband, The Reverend Willett Smith, her sister Vivian Brewer and her parents Petrus

(Pete) and Selma (née Nielsen) Rasmussen. She is survived by her three sons, Stephen, Timothy and

Peter, as well as her seven grandchildren, Andrew,

Wyatt, Elliott, Katharine (Bird), J.B., Lake and Jacob.

Esther was born on December 4, 1927, in DeLand,

Florida. As the child of Danish immigrants, she became a stellar student, and pursued keen interests in literature and music from an early age. She graduated in 1945 from DeLand Senior High School as salutatorian of her class, and in 1949 from Florida State University (having enrolled whilst it was known as the Florida State College for Women) with Phi Beta Kappa honors and as co-valedictorian of her class.

She married Willett Smith on August 25, 1951, in her hometown of DeLand, and then moved north to New Haven, Connecticut, where Willett enrolled at Yale Divinity School. Esther was of great support to Willett’s ministries thereafter in New Preston, Connecticut, Buffalo, New York, Silver Creek, New York and Wilmington, Delaware, the latter where Willett served Limestone Presbyterian Church as pastor until his retirement, and where he served other area churches during his retirement.

In addition to her dedication to the church and her family, Esther forged a career of her own. Having worked as a teacher after her college graduation, she pursued and received two master’s degrees from the University of Delaware, the first in special education in 1972, and the second in educational counseling in 1977. She put her graduate degrees to work, first as a teacher at Forest Oak Elementary School in Wilmington, and later as a counselor in the Office of Continuing Education at the University of Delaware, a position from which she retired after twenty years of service.

Esther was an engaging, knowledgeable and accomplished woman, and she lived without pretense. She read widely and spoke easily about many things. She was a great source of friendship and counsel and had the ability to make others feel both comfortable and cared about. Her warmth was also mixed with good humor and a persevering spirit. She kept many long-term friendships and correspondences, while welcoming, and thoroughly enjoying, those new acquaintances that life brought her way. She loved people through life’s highs and lows, without giving evidence of undue effort. To have known her was to be better for the experience.

Always a quietly grateful person, Esther grew even more so in her later years. She delighted in correspondence and telephone calls from family and friends, and in visits and outings with friends and carers alike. She appreciated deeply the support of her church and the many kindnesses extended to her by its congregants. She took ever greater joy in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and their friends and friends’ families. In her final days, she also took great comfort in the prospect of long overdue reunions with the many loved ones that passed before her.

Plans for Esther’s memorial service in the greater Wilmington area will be announced at a later date. Donations in Esther’s honor may be made to the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church of Wilmington, Limestone Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union.