wfn.org | Frances Smith, retired United Methodist journalist, dies at 87

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> Frances Smith, retired journalist, dies at 87

> Frances Smith

> A UMNS Report
> By Linda Bloom*

> Jan. 4, 2010

Frances Smith, a former United Methodist News Service reporter known
for her integrity, encyclopedic knowledge of religious and
international issues and ability to shoot from the hip, died Dec. 30
in Claremont, Calif., at the age of 87.

Tom McAnally, a news service colleague who eventually became her boss,
compared Smith to Helen Thomas, the venerable UPI White House
reporter. "She was a scholar and an intellectual who approached her
work with all seriousness," he said. "She didn't hesitate to ask the
hard questions when working on a story."

Smith joined the New York office of United Methodist News Service in
1976. She retired in 1988, after 40 years in journalism. The late
George Cornell of The Associated Press said Smith knew the field of
religion "better than most academics or bishops." She was inducted
into the denomination's Communicators' Hall of Fame that year.

The Texas native and Presbyterian began her career covering the police
beat for the St. Louis Star-Times during World War II. After the war,
she moved to New York and became assistant editor of Justice, the
newspaper of the International Garment Workers' Union for six years.

She then moved on to religious publications, including denominational
magazines for the Presbyterian Church and United Church of Christ and
the opinion journal Christianity in Crisis, where she worked with
founding editors Reinhold Niebuhr and John Bennett. Moving to Geneva,
she served on the World Council of Churches' communications staff and
as editor of Ecumenical News Service from 1966-76.

"Frances was one of the most respected of church journalists for her
accuracy and her objectivity," recalled Betty Thompson, a friend who
worked with her in both United Methodist and World Council of Churches
settings.

Cornell had called her "a true-blue straightshooter," alluding to a
directness that could be intimidating, McAnally said, to those who did
not know her well.

Garlinda Burton, who worked with Smith at UMNS from 1982-88 and
described her as a "pistol," recalled a time when Smith scolded a
bishop who had taken a cup of coffee from the General Conference
newsroom. That coffee was for the press only, she told him.

Smith needed her coffee, too. "I don't talk until I have my morning
coffee," she told Barbara Dunlap-Berg, a fellow staff member at United
Methodist Communications, when they were assigned to be roommates
during the 1984 General Conference. But each day at breakfast, once
the coffee had been served, Frances shared some of her reporting
experiences with Dunlap-Berg and talked proudly about her nephew, an actor.

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"On the job, Frances was a serious and conscientious reporter; off the
job, she was fun with a dry sense of humor," remembered Nelson Price,
who led the public media division at United Methodist Communications.

Thompson and McAnally agreed. "Frances was not noted for her small
talk, but she was a very good after-hours party companion," Thompson added.

For Burton, Smith's love of travel inspired her "to seize the
opportunities in the church to see the world."

She still remembers a photograph of Smith sitting on a camel in Egypt.
"I loved to hear her tell stories about her travel because she'd try
anything," she explained. "I think she just loved being on the world stage."

The travel bug followed her into retirement, with annual Christmas
letters describing her trips. She also worked occasionally as a
freelance writer and was actively involved at Pilgrim Place, a
Southern California retirement community for those who worked for
religious and charitable organizations, where she had resided since 1994.

The Rev. Barbara Troxell, a friend and fellow resident there, said
Smith helped inspire the community on environmental issues, served as
editor of the monthly newsletter and organized the booths for an
annual festival until her health began to decline about a year and a half ago.

Smith is survived by one brother, William Smith, four nieces and a
nephew. A memorial service is planned Jan. 23 at Pilgrim Place.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org