Judith F. Smith

Judith Fisher Smith, 82, of Bethany, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on July 6, 2025.
She was predeceased by her husband, Hibbard Thomas Smith, Jr., and her parents, Ruth G. Fisher and Charles A. Fisher.

Judith is survived by her daughter, Lorene D. Keller (Francis J. Keller), and her son, Hibbard Thomas Smith, III, and her two beloved horses (Mysti J and Tibb’s Driven on Command, aka DoC) and cats (Calico and Silver).  She was a proud and loving grandmother to Hibbard Thomas Smith, IV (Dulcenia Sarti), Keegan D. Keller, Aurora R. Keller (Dakota McKeown), and Ambrose Phoenix Keller.

Judith was born in Joliet, Illinois while her dad was an engineer on a TNT production line during WWII.  She spent most of her early life in and around Buffalo, New York. She attended Cornell University, where she developed a lifelong love of learning. In her early adult years, she lived in Chicago, New York City, and Rochester, NY before eventually settling in Connecticut with her husband.

Judith dedicated herself fully to her family during her children’s formative years. She ensured they had every opportunity to explore their interests—enrolling them in gymnastics, ballet, piano lessons, baseball teams, and more. She served for many years as a Camp Fire troop leader so her children would always have a group to belong to, and even worked at the summer camp in Danbury, Connecticut, so they could attend.  She planned family summer vacations that included time to visit extended family as well as adventures all over the Northeast coastline and into Canada and the Great Lakes regions.  She taught her children to fish and hike and love nature.

Judith was never without animals around her.  Her childhood home had cats and dogs, and she took horse riding lessons.  Early in her marriage, she and her husband briefly owned a spider monkey. Over the years, her homes were shared with a revolving cast of collies—many of which she bred herself—as well as cats, fish, and hamsters.

There wasn’t much Judith didn’t try—her lifelong curiosity led her from interior design to glass blowing to sculpture.  She dabbled in photography. She may well have been the only person in the lower 48 states to dogsled with a team of collies. During snowstorms, she could often be found racing through her neighborhood streets at midnight, the snow freshly packed by the plows and her team ready to run.  She taught herself how to handle maneuvering a Ford F350 pickup truck with a 3-horse stock trailer attached.  She designed and built three houses for her family over the years, completing the final one through the Covid epidemic in her late 70s.

Later in life, she returned to her first love: horses. She went back to college and completed a degree in Equine Management, then became a teacher in the very program from which she graduated. She owned five horses over the years and found deep joy in researching the best, most thoughtful ways to care for them.  She loved to share her knowledge with others, writing a book about horse handling and continuing to teach round pen and communication techniques.

Judith touched many lives in her time with her willingness to learn and to share knowledge and help others.  She loved her barn community, never missing an event and often sitting up overnight with an ill horse and worried owner.  She will be deeply and truly missed by all who were lucky enough to have experienced this amazing lady.