Our mother was born on 10th September 1932 in Glasgow, Scotland, her parents (John and Elizabeth Smyth) having moved there for work from Donegal, Ireland. She had older identical twin brothers Albert and Ernest. Mum was 17 when the family moved back to Northern Ireland. After attending secretarial school, she worked for a time as a secretary in a legal firm.
 
She became a Christian at a young age and met her husband Samuel William (Bill) at a Christian youth meeting in Belfast. At first, she did not like him much! She thought he was too much of a showoff, playing the piano in front of everybody. However, he was friends with her brothers and they soon started dating! Both felt that the Lord was calling them to be missionaries, so they went to Bible school in Glasgow for two years and while there, they married in 1955.
 
After Bible School, they were sent out to France as missionaries. After a year in Paris, learning the language, they moved to Jebsheim, a small town in Alsace. Soon three children were born to them, Paul being the eldest, followed by David and Janine. In 1964 the family moved to Besançon, then 2 years later to Marseille, on the south coast of France. There dad started a church as well as a French Christian literature work, translating Christian books from English into French. They stayed in Marseille until 1974 when they moved to Digswell. There, dad helped establish Evangelical Press – a publishing work that continues to this day – while still being very involved with the French literature work as well as regular French radio broadcasts. During this whole time, mum was at his side, working alongside him, helping with all aspects of the administration, including a Bible correspondence course with many students, mostly in Africa. She continued this work even after our father’s death in 1998 (they had been married for 43 years) until she was no longer able to do so by reason of ill health.
 
In the last few years, she suffered from dementia and eventually moved into a care home (St. Andrews) in Dec 2016.
 
Mum lived a full and amazing life. She leaves 3 children, 5 grand-children and 4 great-grandchildren. She was devoted to her work, her family and above all her Saviour, with Whom she now lives and finally enjoys His presence, surrounded by Christians who went before her, including our father.