Honoring
Ann Bickford Smith

Ann Bickford Smith, 91, died peacefully on December 19, 2025, in Lexington, Massachusetts, surrounded by family. Born in Evanston, Illinois, she was the elder daughter of the late Reginald Scott and Emma “Jean” Bickford and showed an early gift for teaching, often gathering neighborhood children on her front porch for lessons.

After graduating from Evanston Township High School, Ann attended Smith College on a full scholarship, where she earned her degree in education. She met Hedrick Laurence Smith on a blind date and later married, raising four children. Early in her career, she taught kindergarten, and later lived abroad in Egypt and the Soviet Union with her family, travelling extensively.

Ann earned a Master’s degree in Education from George Washington University and taught reading in the Maryland public school system. After moving to Boston in the late 80s, she returned to graduate school at age 50 and completed a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She later served as a learning specialist at Belmont Day School.

She had an active retirement. She served as President of WomenKind Educational Resource Center and co-founded the Financial Literacy Project, producing one of the first books on financial literacy for women.  She continued tutoring students and working at the Arlington Children’s Library. Passionate about the arts, she sang with the Mystic Chorale, regularly attended the Boston Symphony, and took piano lessons into her eighties. An avid traveler and nature lover, she explored destinations around the world, enjoyed Cape Cod vacations, birding, and skiing, and cherished views of Spy Pond from her apartment. 

She is survived by her four children, Laurel (Kirk Doggett), Jenny (Richard Tichnor), Scott, and Lesley (Jeff Dickson), her four grandchildren, Stetson, Logan, Emma, and Tyler, and her sister, Jean Frey.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Rosie’s Place. A virtual service celebrating Ann’s life will be held on January 30, 2:00 PM, which would have been her 92nd birthday.