COPYRIGHT 2010 Lillian Smith Family Violence Foundation. All rights reserved.
By her son, J.J. Smith
Lillian Smith was a vivacious, devoted, fun-loving mother of five children and grandmother of two who was shot and killed by her abusive, alcoholic, ex-husband just before he committed suicide, Aug. 12, 1958, in Denver CO.
She was just 49 years old.
Friendly to everyone, "Lil" worked as a bank teller, was active in church and spent most of her time with her children and their families. She loved anything to do with horses and also enjoyed music and dancing.
She was also very brave.
After enduring several years of increasingly violent beatings, she found the courage and strength to flee with their young son, Johnny, all the way from Los Angeles to Miami to get a divorce - even though very few wives back then ever left their husbands because of domestic abuse. There weren't any women's shelters. They were just expected to put up with it.
But she wouldn't.
Unfortunately, it was not long before her then ex-husband caught up with her in Florida, stalking and threatening her regularly. Without any victim assistance programs available, she and Johnny once again fled back across the country to Denver, where she found refuge living with one of her two daughters from her first marriage, and near the other.
Eventually, however, he found them again. After two more years of stalking and threats, he finally broke into her apartment in the middle of that unforgettable night, shot and killed Lillian - as she tried to escape out the front door - and then turned the gun on himself. He did all of this in front of then 10-year-old Johnny, who tried to defend her after witnessing his father beat his mother many times in the past. He was not harmed physically.
Hundreds of people attended her funeral after her shocking murder became front page news in both Denver newspapers. Back then, family violence-related murders were a rarity, and no one wanted to talk about the problem, even though it existed.
Lillian Smith was just an everyday, average person trying to make her way through life. What I remember best was how loved and secure she made me feel, despite the constant terror that she must have been feeling.
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