Episcopal Priest Dies Of Cancer Ministered To Deaf Before Husband Named Dean Here

Sun., Jan. 3, 1999

Kristen Kromer Staff Writer

Remembered by friends and family as a woman full of love and a bridge between Christians and Jews, the Rev. Betsy Smylie died Saturday. She was 45.

The funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Grand Boulevard.

An ordained priest, Smylie found her niche ministering to the hearing impaired. After her son was born deaf in 1983, she wondered how she could teach him about Jesus. That questioning led her to learn sign language and serve as vicar of the Ephphatha Episcopal Church of the Deaf in Orchard Park, N.Y.

The Smylies moved to Spokane in June. Two weeks after John Smylie was invited to serve in Spokane as the dean of St. John’s Cathedral, Betsy Smylie was diagnosed with brain cancer.

In characteristic fashion, she used the situation God gave her to become a better minister and teach about faith.

“She faced her disease as she faced life, with strength and courage,” said John Smylie, her husband of 19 years.

Those who knew her described her as engaging, open and caring.

“Even in the midst of her own health issues, she cared about others as well,” said Bishop Jeff Terry of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane.

Betsy Smylie was born in Fort Belvoir, Va. She received a bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe-Harvard in 1975, and her master’s from Harvard Divinity School in 1981. There, she won an award for preaching and was also the first woman to receive a varsity letter in rifle shooting.

Her accomplishments did not make her intimidating or unapproachable, however.

“In her presence, you became a friend,” said Kay Rafferty, who served on the dean’s search committee that brought the Smylies to Spokane. “She was a joyful, glorious person. It was a gift that we were able to get to know her.”

Smylie spent a year in Israel, which fueled her passion for knowledge of the Old Testament and its Jewish roots. She then passed that enthusiasm to others through her teachings.

A devoted parent, Smylie co-wrote the book, “Christian Parenting” with her husband.

“She was such a loving person. And she knew how to help others learn how to love,” John Smylie said.

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