Leader Editor
Helen Smith is gone, but the longtime Oxford resident will certainly never be forgotten judging by the people that knew and loved this iconic local figure.
‘I don’t see anybody else taking her place,? said Oxford resident Mickey Hiatt, a longtime friend. ‘There’s not another woman like her. I’ve never met anybody like her. Never.?
Smith passed away peacefully in her Oxford Oaks condo on Monday, July 13, 2015 at the age of 81.
A 1952 Oxford High School graduate, she was an extremely passionate supporter of this community.
‘She was a constant,? said retired Oxford teacher/coach Walt Studinger, a close friend of Smith’s since 1974. ‘I don’t know that you could find anybody more committed to the community than Helen. She embodied a real sense of community.?
‘Helen was a supporter of everything in the community,? said Jack LeRoy, former chief of both Oxford’s police and fire departments. ‘She was the spirit of Oxford. She was supportive of any organization that was out to do good for the people. She was involved in so much.?
‘I used to call her Miss Oxford because that’s who she was,? said Oxford Township Supervisor Bill Dunn. ‘I honestly can’t think of anybody who’s done more for this community, particularly the kids, than she did. I wish more people cared like Helen did. I wish I had a whole army of Helen Smiths.?
Much of her time and energy was channeled into Oxford sports and helping student athletes. She was a charter member of the original Oxford Wildcat Booster Club and worked her fingers to the bone for the organization from 1968 until its dissolution in 2005. But she never minded or complained because it was a true labor of love for her.
‘Her whole reason to get up in the morning was to do whatever was necessary for the booster club or anything else (connected with) the schools,? said longtime friend Dave Weckle, who went from raking mountains of leaves for her as a young teen to regularly playing cards with her as an adult.
‘There’s not a student or athlete who experienced Oxford athletics that didn’t know Helen or wasn’t touched by Helen,? said Bill Keenist, booster club member and former school board member.
‘People like Helen are rare. I can’t imagine how many students she touched over the years. Thousands of kids were impacted by her and what a legacy to leave.?
Keenist said she transcended generations and ‘that’s the ultimate compliment? to ‘have that impact on all ages.?
‘I know a lot of kids would come back after five years or so to thank Helen and tell her how the things she shared with them and (her guidance) helped them in their lives,? Weckle said.
Smith’s top priority was never, ever in question.
‘She always cared about the kids,? Keenist said. ‘That was first and foremost with her.?
‘Anything (you wanted) to help develop programs that would benefit kids, she was right there,? Studinger said.
Keenist called Smith and the late Andy Vascassenno, a fixture in Wildcat athletics from 1966 to 2009, ‘the father and mother of Oxford sports.?
‘If there was a maternal figure, it was Helen,? Keenist said. ‘There will never be anyone like her again. I can’t imagine there being anyone like her again. We’re just fortunate to have had her in our community and in our district with our kids for as long as we did.?
‘She was born and bred to be a Wildcat,? Studinger said.
One thing virtually everyone this reporter talked to commented on was Smith’s willingness to state her opinion in an open, honest and frank manner.
‘When she would show up at a meeting, I think everybody took notice,? Hiatt said. ‘She was a dominant person. If she didn’t like what you were saying, she would tell you. She wouldn’t do it behind your back. She would stand up and say no, you’re wrong.?
‘That was the beauty of her ? she spoke her mind. She walked the walk and talked the talk,? Keenist said. ‘She had no problem telling you how she felt. That’s admirable today because that’s not always the case in our world anymore.?
State Rep. Brad Jacobsen (R-Oxford) is going to miss receiving those ‘unexpected? phone calls from Smith during which she’d discuss an issue with him and make her position quite clear.
‘She had no problem telling any of us if we were off track,? he said.
Studinger said Smith didn’t talk at a person, she talked to them. She had a genuine conversation with them.
‘Somebody mentioned that she spoke from the heart,? he said. ‘She certainly did.?
Studinger noted there was nothing phony about Smith. She never put on airs. She was the same down-to-earth person no matter who was talking to her. She was who she was.
‘She used to love going out for beers with the boys,? Studinger said. ‘I remember us being snowed-in in the old Rob’s Bar (in downtown Oxford in the late 1970s). Nobody could get in or out, there was so much snow. We had a great time. Good discussions with good people and good friends.?
Just because she frequently spoke her mind didn’t mean that Smith wasn’t willing to listen.
‘She gave everybody a fair shot,? Hiatt said.
Jacobsen said Smith believed strongly that ‘we all have value and we all deserve to have our opinions heard.?
‘Everybody’s got worth,? he said. ‘You need to listen to them.?
Smith was definitely opinionated, but she was by no means an unsocial curmudgeon.
‘The people who didn’t know Helen looked at her, quite often, as sort of an abrupt, gruff, perhaps grouchy lady,? Jacobsen said.
‘But once you talked to her for 15 minutes, and you got to know her a little bit, you realized that under that exterior, there was really a sweetheart who was totally unselfish and willing to do anything she could to help anybody. She’d give them the shirt off her back if she could.?
‘If you never had a chance to sit down and spend a half-hour with her and really get to understand where she was coming from, that’s your loss,? Jacobsen noted.
LeRoy said Smith had ‘a heart of gold.?
‘She had everyone’s best interests in mind,? he said.
‘She might come off as gruff, but she was the most loving person,? said friend Pat Bliss, president of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 108. ‘She loved everything she was involved in and the people around her. I loved her to pieces.?
Smith wasn’t just a booster for Oxford athletics, she was also a fierce advocate for the local police and fire departments. She never failed to let public safety personnel know just how much she appreciated their efforts.
‘She’s always been a huge supporter of the fire department, backing us on our millage issues, coming out in support of us whenever we needed anything,? said Oxford Fire Chief Pete Scholz.
LeRoy recalled how Smith ‘was the first to congratulate you if you did something good or got a promotion.?
‘She was always right on top of it,? he said.
Smith was very involved in American Legion Post 108 and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 108, the latter of which she belonged to as a member. She did everything from chairing the scholarship committee to overseeing, at the local level, the Boys State and Girls State programs, statewide summer enrichment programs that teach high school students the fundamentals of government and the democratic process.
‘Anytime we needed something, she was always there to help us and support us,? Bliss said. ‘She did so much for the post.?
Bliss described Smith ‘as a pillar of honesty and devotion to anything she set her mind to and to anyone that she could help.?
‘She was always on top of every project she took on,? she said. ‘She’d have everything all done, all lined up and ready to go way before (the deadline).?
It’s no secret Smith loved the holidays.
Back when she lived on W. Burdick St. in the village, she used to dress up as the ‘Oxford Witch? to delight and frighten the trick-or-treating kiddies on Halloween.
But it was Christmastime when she really shined and lots of folks received goodies from her kitchen.
Scholz recalled how every Christmas, Smith would make her famous crab dip and send it to the fire station along with some cookies and fudge.
Jacobsen will miss the packages of homemade fudge and strawberry jam he received like clockwork.
‘I always looked forward to those,? he said. ‘Special things from a special lady.?
Helen Smith was a lot of things to a lot of people, but above all, she was a stalwart friend and perhaps, that’s all that really needs to be said about this grand lady and her impressive legacy.
‘From the first day I knew her, she felt like the most immediate and the most endearing friend you could have,? Studinger said. ‘If you ever wanted an honest conversation with a good friend, you couldn’t do much better than Helen Smith.
‘She’d let you know when you were right or wrong and still support you (either way). There may be others that have some of those qualities, but I don’t know that anybody had them more.?