DOVER, N.H. – Kathryn Carson Smith, 90, of Durham, N.H., died Dec. 30, at Wentworth-Douglas Hospital after a brief illness.

She was born in East Brooksville, on April 7, 1918, the daughter of John and Anna Mae (Brown) Carson, both of Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. She graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1936, and attended Colby College. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 1969.

She was a frequent substitute teacher and literacy volunteer in schools throughout the states of Maine and New Hampshire. She was also an accomplished piano player and she was a genealogist and an author as well. A social and political activist, she was a member of United Methodist Women and was the president of the Portland Chapter of the League of Women Voters. She read four newspapers a day until very late in her life and was an avid student of politics and American history.

She married the Rev. H. Travers Smith, a Methodist minister, on Sept. 1, 1940 and often served as organist during his 45 years in the ministry. The Rev. and Mrs. Smith lived for many years on “Saturday Farm” in Otisfield. After the Rev. Smith died in 1994, she lived with her son in Durham, N.H.

She is survived by her son, Edson T. Smith of Durham, N.H.; a sister, Anna Mae Wescott of Brunswick; a grandson, Carson T. Smith and his wife, Amy A. Howell, of Portsmouth, N.H.; a granddaughter, Eliza M. Smith of Charlestown, Mass.; a great-granddaughter, Kathryn A. Smith of Portsmouth, N.H.; and extended family in Northern Ireland.

As the Irish saying goes, “She was of good age.” But what a life she had!! She was an author, a poet and a historian. She could recall historical moments as if they were yesterday. She understood current events and trends well enough so that she could make discerning opinions on politics, whether local, national or international. She was a “good” woman. We were blessed to have her in our lives.