Our remarkable sister Cris Smith passed away peacefully after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer. Kathleen, Greg and Libby were with her for her last day.

Cris was born in Los Angeles to parents Adelaide and Gordon Smith. She leaves behind her older sister Sharon, younger sister Kathleen, and older brother Greg and his wife Libby.

Cris was enraptured with nature and spent some early years after college in the Forest Service, She worked in the Sierras, the Trinity Alps and in Montana.

She traveled many times to Hawaii and loved snorkeling with turtles and ever-present parrotfish. Cris also flew up to remote parts of Alaska to view brown bears, moose and elk. She also rafted through the Grand Canyon.

Over the past 15 years she’s been a year-round, almost daily, ocean swimmer, joined by her brother. Cris always said it was the best part of the day.

Kathleen has been Cris’s pal since they were crawlers. They traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Canada and many spots on the East Coast together. And every week they’d take dog walks together and enjoy watching the wave-riding pelicans.

Cris loved the poetry of Gary Snyder and Mary Oliver. She read widely and deeply in philosophy and literature.