Obituary of Jenny Smith

Jenny Smith of Findhorn, Morayshire, Scotland Jenny was born on February 13th 1951 in Barry, Wales, Great Britain to Anne Spencer-Smith (Hodgson) of Onich, Scotland and Spencer Spencer-Smith of Knockholt, Kent. Jenny was a lively and adventurous woman who led an interesting and dynamic life despite personal and in later years health challenges. When still a young pre-school child the family moved to London and she attended a number of schools which had very different teaching styles that probably contributed to her varied interests and talents in life including music, playing the Scottish fiddle, art, writing, organizing and running her own businesses. After leaving school she attended a London art college and got involved in the London “Squatting” Movement, a politically motivated movement of living in the many, somewhat derelict, empty houses in many parts of London that the local government were refusing to renovate when there was still a severe shortage of housing following the second world war. In 1975 she was one of the founding members of the Lenthall Road Workshop, Hackney, London a community screen printing and photography workshop teaching local, often low income people how to use these art forms and how to use them for political issues in their neighbourhoods and the larger London Community. In 1977 Jenny bought a traditional, two bedroom stone farmhouse called Delachuper. in Corgaff, a hamlet just below the Lecht Ski area of the Grampian Mountains, Scotland situated on a single track dirt road, originally a military road built in the 1700s by the conquering English Red Coat soldiers. Water for the house still came by putting a bucket under a tiny spring just across the track from the front door. There was no electricity and lighting came from Tilly lamps. Jenny eventually put in a somewhat better water supply collecting rainwater off the hills, a bathroom for which she did her own plumbing and organized for grid electricity to come across the river Don to the property. During some of these early years, to reduce her social isolation, Jenny also spent time living on the outskirts of Edinburgh where she was involved with a number of different community groups and issues. When more settled at Delachuper Jenny opened a business making striped Shetland wool sweaters on a hand knitting machine. She had a talent for choosing the color tones of the stripes of the sweaters based on the colors she saw in the heather and forest clad hills around her. In 1982 she re-opened the small private hostel that had been set up by the previous owner in the small barn below the house. She ran “Jenny's Bothy” until 2011 providing not only hikers and skiers with bunk beds but also hosting small groups for a variety of self-development workshops including singing with known traditional music Scottish singers. In the Fall of 1992 she hosted a Canadian Indigenous healer, Red Thunder Cloud on a herbal teaching tour of Eastern Scotland. In 2011 Jenny closed Jenny's Bothy due to her health and ageing issues and relocated to the Morayshire coast with its sunnier and milder weather, and wide sandy beaches. Here Jenny was active with her local town, Forres, in their Transitional Town movement. She then started a small community garden on the High Street in Forres giving away vegetables and herbs to passers modelled on the Todmorden, Yorkshire Incredible Edible program, now a world wide movement. She was also an active local leader with Nourish Scotland, a program supporting nutritious, sustainably grown foods over all of Scotland, and with other programs concerning soil health and changes to climate that effect Scotland and the rest of the world. Jenny, as a single person without children, has had the time and energy to have a huge impact on many people over her 69 years of life. She had a great sense of humour and a huge loving heart. Many children have had the opportunity to spend fun, creative time with her and many adults have been positively impacted by her drive to make the world a better place. She became a very good listener and has supported many adult in healing themselves from their life traumas. The last few weeks of her life was a very special time for Jenny and myself, Margie. Our relationship had not always been easy due to the difficult dynamics in our family of origin and the relatively early deaths of our parents. During these past few weeks we experienced great healing in our family story, sibling relationship, gaining deeper understanding and respect for each other and were able to freely express our love for each other. Jenny was buried on April 11th 2020 in Innis na Birlinn Cemetery, Onich, by Fort William Scotland, next to our grandfather Victor Hodgson who died in 1929 so never knew that he had two grand-daughters who he would surely have loved as he had loved our mother until his death when she was seven years old. Margie, Jenny's older and only sibling, due to the Covid 19 virus, is for now remaining in Scotland living in Jenny's home in Findhorn Village with good support from our family, Jenny's friends in Scotland and friends in this country and back home in Maine.