Katherine Raiford Smith succumbed to a myriad of illnesses while under the compassionate professional care of Henrico Doctors' Hospital aided by the gentle attention of Affinity Hospice on Oct. 1, 2024.

Katherine was preceded in death by her parents Dr. Fletcher Lindsay Raiford and Joyce Frankfort Raiford.  She is survived by her husband, Jerry; her sons Lindsay and Hunter; and her siblings Lindsay, Ellis and Philip.

Born in Franklin, Va., April 19, 1940, on the eve of World War II, Katherine and her family were soon affected by the conflict as her father was called to serve in the Pacific with the Army Medical Corps.  After the war the family moved to North Carolina where Dr. Raiford established his medical practice.

A birthright Quaker, Katherine followed a family tradition and attended Westtown School. She then earned a B.A. from WesthamptonCollege of the University of Richmond and a master’s in library science from Drexel.

She served as a librarian in Tompkins-McCaw Library of the Medical College of Virginia and then was put in charge of the library of the Virginia Institute for Scientific Research. She was next appointed head of the Science Library of the University of Richmond's Boatwright Memorial Library. 

Always a dedicated gardener, Katherine left the library profession and moved to a rural property in RockbridgeCounty where she experimented to her heart's content in growing fruits and vegetables with a special interest in native plants. Joining the Seed Savers Exchange (and occasionally appropriating roadside seeds and seedlings while traveling), she was always eager to see how some new vegetation would fare in Rockbridge County. One outcome of many was her "date persimmon tree" that produces a unique dark sweet elongated fruit. 

Katherine also nurtured to maturity several magnolia trees that were the result of crossbreeding experimentation done, in cooperation with Lewis GinterBotanical Garden, by her first husband William Smith.  Early in the Garden’s history, Katherine had volunteered to help start its botanical library.

She was the driving force in establishing the Master Gardener program in Rockbridge and for many years taught classes for those aspiring to earn the designation of Master Gardener. She led the drive to create the Upper James River Native Plant Society.  In a 2016 commendation, Katherine was described as “a visionary in the natural world with a mission to help people learn about native plants and their ecological importance.”  She labored mightily to make the Buena Vista Visitors Center a haven of native vegetation and was undeterred when the result of her efforts was referred to as weeds.

True to her Quaker heritage, Katherine served the Baltimore Yearly Meeting as clerk from 1988 to 1991 and was a member of the Faith & Practice Committee in 2016. Locally, she helped invigorate the Maury River Friends Meeting, which she faithfully supported.

From 2003 to 2004 Katherine served as chair of the Rockbridge County Democratic Committee and was steadfastly loyal to that party and its candidates. In a bipartisan role she often rose early on Election Day to be a poll worker at her precinct. 

Katherine helped preserve Raiford family memorabilia, with a particular interest in the Raiford contribution to medicine, which dated back to her grandfather’s founding of a hospital in Sedley, Va. 

Katherine will be remembered by her friends for the high level of confidence she demonstrated in her steadfast determination to guide people in making right decisions and following correct procedures. As one friend saw it, she was a “truth-teller, a champion convener and a sustainer who will be missed beyond words.”

The family commemoration of Katherine's life will be private.