Elizabeth Smith (April 19, 1944—March 5, 2025) was the loving wife of J. Michael Smith, who served as president of HSLDA from 2000 to 2022. She was a dedicated homeschooling mom of four, and a strong advocate for the gospel and for homeschool freedom. You can read more about her life here.
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How does one measure the impact of someone’s life? By how much good they did for others? How they bettered society? Or how faithfully they carried out their role as a spouse, parent, or friend? When I remember Elizabeth Smith, I think of all of these.
I first met Elizabeth in 1987, when I was a new mom eager to start homeschooling. My late husband, Chris, had started working with her husband, Mike Smith, at HSLDA. During this time, I had the privilege of getting to know Elizabeth.
Although a native Californian, she reminded me of a gracious Southern lady—always thinking of and extending warmth and friendship to others. She led the prayer time for the board wives each year, and it was during those times of intercession that I got a glimpse of how real her faith was. She knew how powerful God is, and her bold prayers on behalf of those around her inspired me to trust God for big answers to big needs, of which we would have plenty in the ensuing years.
Elizabeth, and her husband, Mike, co-founder, former president, and current board member of HSLDA.
While Mike and Chris fought for freedom to homeschool, Elizabeth was exemplifying her own qualities of vision, faith, and inspirational leadership. As an articulate and principled conservative, she spoke up for truth in many op-ed columns. And as a homeschool pioneer, she advocated for freedom and godly parenting in homeschool articles and talks with moms at homeschooling conferences.
Her topics, including “Parenting Heart to Heart” and “Balancing Home, Marriage, and Homeschooling,” resonated with many of our hearts and encouraged us moms deeply. And her intentional parenting and loving dedication to Mike, to whom she was married for 55 years, spoke volumes to me and to hundreds of other parents.
Whenever Elizabeth had an opportunity to invest in another’s life, she took it. I am the glad recipient of her purposeful friendship and holy influence. She included me in the Family Foundation of Virginia annual galas, where she served on the board for many years. She also encouraged me to serve as an auxiliary officer in the Gideons ministry and invited me to join a charter chapter of P.E.O., a philanthropic organization promoting women’s education. She herself was a member of both organizations for several years.
Latha Brubaker, Ricci Black, Elizabeth, and Tracy Klicka at a Gideons ministry event in November 2023.
Everywhere she went, Elizabeth modeled the very qualities of faith and leadership she inspired in so many. While she lived, she served, not in heroic deeds that grabbed the attention of the world, but in faithfulness to the God she loved. A passionate prayer warrior for the needs of many, she exemplified the kind of heart the writer of 2 Chronicles had in mind when he wrote, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
Sometimes it’s the little things we do that have the greatest impact. My good friend Elizabeth Smith, through thousands of small intentional acts of bold faith, friendship, and commitment to family and freedom, left an indelible mark that will last into eternity.