A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. October 9 at the Parish of the Epiphany Church, Winchester, for Florence Jope Smith, 88, long a supporter of MIT, a school she never attended.
Mrs. Smith, who died September 9 at a Bedford nursing home, was active for years in the activities of the MIT Association of Alumni and Alumnae.
Her link to MIT was through her late husbands, Ralph T. Jope, who died in 1965, and Walter J. Smith, who died in 1990. Both were members of the MIT Class of 1928 and both were presidents of that class. She and Mr. Jope were married in 1932. In 1974 she and Mr. Smith were married.
Mrs. Jope Smith's service to MIT over so many years was recognized in singular fashion in 1984 when the Alumni/ae Association took the unusual step of making her an honorary alumna and presenting her its highest honor, the Bronze Beaver. She also was a member of the MIT Matrons and the Emma Rogers Society, a group named for the wife of MIT's founder.
Mrs. Jope Smith is survived by her children, Roxanne Jope McNamara of Rochester, NY; Deborah Jope Gasior of Park Ridge, NJ; and Theodore W. Jope of La Canada, CA, seven grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Parish of the Epiphany Church, 70 Church St., Winchester, Mass. 01890, or to Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass. 02181.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 20, 1995.
