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The life that began in Peckham, London, England, ended quietly and peacefully at 5 London Court, Old Saybrook on June 5. Shirley Robins Smith was born on Nov. 25, 1922, and, after her father’s untimely passing in 1926, lived with her mother and two siblings in London, with the three children spending several years in the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage boarding school. She left school at 14 to go to work to support the family, who all survived World War II and The Blitz.

Following the war, Mom moved to America, where she would meet and marry Theodore “Ted” Smith and raise us, her two daughters. To us and many who knew her, she was extraordinary; she knitted all our sweaters, sewed all our clothes, baked the bread, grew organic fruit and vegetables, made jam, baked pies, and visited many countries in her career as a travel agent, reflecting her lifelong curiosity about the world.

She welcomed all our “strays”—both pets and friends—with an open heart. She read, learned, acquired her certified travel consultant designation, swam (including a mile on her 70th birthday), ran, and raced (her last 5k at the age of 87). A vegetarian, she was an avid supporter of wildlife, especially birds, and the environment. She loved to dance and was a devotee of a variety of music, as happy to listen to Dino as to Luciano. She always said “You can do anything!” and was living proof.

In addition to her parents, Sgt. Robert Hill Robins, Jr., and Louisa Horn Robins, she was predeceased by her brother Robert Hill Robins III, her sister Joan Robins Wootten, and her husband Theodore “Ted” Smith. She is survived by her daughters Valerie Smith of Old Saybrook and Pamela Smith (and partner Bob Lane) of Carlsbad, California; her “other daughter” Gertrude Palmer of Bluffton, South Carolina; her niece Jenny Wootten; her nephews Richard Wootten (Sue) and Peter Wootten (and partner Pat Basham), and their families in London; and her cat Kitty.