Christian Aileen Smith

December 11, 1935 – February 25, 2026

Christian Aileen Smith, 90, went home to be with her Lord on February 25, 2026, at her home in Spencerport, New York, with her family by her side. Born December 11, 1935, at The Gables in Chedworth - a small village in the Cotswolds of Gloucestershire, England - she was the daughter of Richard and Kathleen Rand.

Aileen lost her mother to breast cancer when she was just four years old. Her father remarried, and she grew up working on the family farm in Gloucestershire, tending cows and chickens and learning what it meant to work hard before the sun came up. She carried that toughness with her the rest of her life. After secondary school, she studied animal husbandry at university, but her heart was already pulling her somewhere else. She went on to Bible college to train as a missionary - and that decision changed everything.

It was in Argentina, South America, that Aileen met and married Geoffrey Thomas Smith of London, England. Their daughter Deborah was born there. The family later returned to England briefly, then moved to Binghamton, New York, where Geoff found work. In 1974 they settled in Spencerport - the same house where Aileen would live for the next fifty-two years, and where she took her final breath. She was a homemaker, and she was proud of it. She raised her two children with faith at the center of everything and never wavered from that.

If you knew Aileen, you knew her faith. It wasn't something she kept to herself or brought out on Sundays. It was who she was - morning, noon, and night. She joined First Bible Baptist Church in 1976 and stayed a faithful member for nearly fifty years, building friendships there that lasted a lifetime. She served in the church's Awana program for over 45 years, helping children memorize Scripture and grow in their walk with God. She even created her own curriculum to make it easier for kids to learn and hold onto Bible verses. Witnessing to people about the Lord Jesus Christ wasn't just something she did. It was her greatest joy.

Aileen was sunshine in human form. Always smiling. Always joyful. Always finding the bright side when no one else could. She gave grace and compassion like it cost her nothing, because to her, it didn't. She gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. She never seemed angry - the worst thing anyone ever heard her say was "oh bother!" She loved her family and her grandkids with zero reservations and would have given the shirt off her back to anyone who needed it.

About ten years ago, Deborah and Walter built their home right onto Aileen's house so they could all be together - and every morning after that, Aileen would find her daughter and say the same thing: "Good morning, have a good day. I love you." When the family sat down for a card game and wanted to play for quarters, she'd shake her head - "gambling is wrong" - and that was that. Her son-in-law Walter will tell you about the years-long game of hide-and-scare they had going. She was in her eighties. He was in his late forties, maybe early fifties. Didn't matter. She'd pop out from behind a corner like a ninja grandma and nearly send him through the ceiling. Two adults - one of them eighty - hiding behind walls trying to give each other a heart attack just to see who'd go first. It's funny when you think about it. But those are the memories that matter most.

Her infectious smile. Her unbashful faith. Her love of life and family. Her spirit of generosity. That's what she leaves behind, and it's more than enough.

Aileen was preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Kathleen Rand, and her beloved husband, Geoffrey Thomas Smith.

She is survived by her daughter, Deborah Sanders (Walter); her son, Jonathan Smith (Rhonda); her sister, Mary Gochenour; her stepbrothers, Michael, Bruce, Ken, and Rob Rand; her grandchildren, Katie Puglisi (Michael), Walter Brian Sanders (Alexandria), Natalie Brockmeyer (Kevin), Austin Smith, Spencer Smith (Anna), Jackson Bellm, and Katherine Bellm; and her great-grandchildren, Grace Puglisi, Leo Puglisi, Noah Brockmeyer, and Maggie Brockmeyer.

Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Guardians of Hope at www.theguardiansofhope.org.

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." - Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)