A Life Cut Short, but Not Its Passion

Amphitheater to Honor 'World's Greatest Stage Mother,' Slain With Son

There was nothing Dale City resident Jean Smith didn't do when it came to supporting recreation and the arts in the community, friends say.

She was a painter when sets were needed and a seamstress when costumes fell apart.

She was a taxi driver for the children's choir at Holy Family Catholic Church and a proud parent in the audience when one of her three children performed in a show.

On Dec. 19, Smith, 39, was killed, along with her 19-year-old son, James Smith, during a botched burglary at their home.

But her name and efforts will live on thanks to the Prince William County Park Authority board. The group voted unanimously last week to name the Locust Shade Park amphitheater after Smith, who was a former member of the Park Authority board and spent several summers at the amphitheater, where her daughter, Sarah Smith, used to work.

"I think this is perfect, and she always loved the amphitheater," said Sarah Smith, 22. "She lived there for a month every summer helping me when I directed drama camp. We would sit and daydream together about what kind of concerts we could have at the amphitheater. We always wanted to open it up for more youth and teen productions."

Jean and James Smith were killed when a teenage neighborhood burglar broke into their Dale City home, police say. Prince William County authorities say the 17-year-old suspect shot and killed James Smith, who was his former schoolmate and asleep on the couch, and then Jean Smith when she got home and tried to call police.

The suspect has been charged as a juvenile with two counts of first-degree murder, burglary, robbery and three counts of using of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is set to appear in court later this year. The Washington Post generally does not name suspects charged in juvenile court.

James Smith, who was a sophomore in musical theater at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., "was my best friend in the entire world," Sarah Smith said. "He was extremely active in choir and a hilarious comedic actor. He and my mother will be missed."

Jean Smith served on the Park Authority board from January 2004 to last January, Park Authority spokeswoman and friend Dianne Cabot said. Although the board discussed several ways to commemorate its lost former colleague, the amphitheater was deemed the best fit because Smith's family was active in music and theater productions at the park, which is in Triangle, and throughout the county.

"This is a very fitting memorial to Jean, given the family's role in the community and interest in the arts," said Prince William County Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles). "Jean was a community activist, and I think it is wonderful the Park Authority is naming something after her."

Nohe said he had known Smith since high school, when they were debate team rivals -- Smith at Osbourn Park and Nohe at Woodbridge. Although not a performer, Smith had a love for the arts because of her three children's involvement in choir and musical productions, he said.

"She was the world's greatest stage mother, always supporting her kids and other kids," Nohe said. "She was active in the performing arts and how they relate to young people. The amphitheater was the kind of thing Jean would always be very excited about."

Sarah Smith, who is also a musical theater major at JMU, said her mom would show up at all of her children's performances -- usually wearing a hand-knitted scarf around her neck and her hair pulled up in a clip. She would watch her 16-year-old son, Connor, play the guitar and James Smith belt out songs during productions at C.D. Hylton Senior High School, she said, adding that her mother also headed the Hylton Chorus Boosters Club.

"Jean was very supportive of her children, and there was never a board meeting where she didn't mention them," Cabot said. "My children didn't go to school with hers, but they were also active in theater, so we had a connection that way. We had a mutual understanding of what it took for our children to be in [theater] and the excitement that comes around it."

Kelly Kingett, music and liturgy director at Holy Family Catholic Church in Dale City, said she always referred to Jean Smith as her "unbiological sister" whom she chose to have as part of her family. Kingett said the duo bonded not only because of the Smith's involvement at the church but because both had children in Hylton's choir.

"I remember the spring show at Hylton when the seniors were singing. The two of us were sitting together, tears streaming down our faces," Kingett said. "We were two ridiculous moms, holding flowers for our daughters. We were laughing at how ridiculous we were but also sad it was over."

Kingett said Jean Smith also sang in the church choir with her family and served as the "taxi service" for the youth choir.

"She would drive all over Prince William County to pick up kids to sing in the choir," Kingett said. "Eventually she had to stop doing that because of other obligations, and I lost a good chunk of my choir."

Although the Park Authority and the arts were a big part of Smith's life, the mother of four was also involved in various other community groups, most recently the board of the local agency on aging.

"We teased her that she had terminal volunteerism syndrome," Nohe said. "Her whole world was about making the community great."

Details for the amphitheater dedication are still being worked out, Park Authority officials said. The venue will probably be dedicated this spring, along with two other park spaces, Cabot said.

"There is still a profound sadness within the Park Authority, but, of course, we have to go on in our business and serve the citizens," Cabot said. "I don't think Jean would want us to do it any other way."