It was with great sadness that Foxes Trust learned of the sad passing of one of its members and dear friends, Christine Smeaton, after a long brave fight against illness.
My early meetings with Christine were as a young programme seller posted at the entrance to the Belvoir Suite at Filbert Street. As all the other Board Members and associated families skulked past this ‘young kid’ without a word, Christine would always stop and have a friendly chat about something to do with the club (favourite players & predictions for the game that day being the favourite two of many questions she would ask me and await my reply with genuine interest!).
Later on in life I had the pleasure of meeting with Christine on many occasions in relation to Leicester City matters and I would sum up her many attributes in the following key points:
- A friendly warm person with an infectious smile
- Passionate about all things Leicester City related
- A hugely influential voice within the boardroom for the true fans of Leicester City
- Contagious desire to ensure the fans (not just a handful of corporate ‘fans’) were able to share in and access the heritage of the club
- Someone who was never prepared to take ‘no’ as an answer
- Someone who knew how to get past the ‘red tape’ and bureaucracy using innovative methods in order to achieve results.
I asked her friend and colleague John Hutchinson for a further in depth tribute to Christine and he wrote the following:……
"Like countless other people, I was very sorry to hear of Christine's sad death on February 28th, after a very debilitating illness. I was at her extremely well attended funeral on Saturday (8th March) at Swithland Church. The funeral service itself was a very real tribute to Christine and her life, reflecting as it did her wide range of interests, her character, personality, warmth and achievements.
I first met Christine about two and a half years ago, when I embarked on the current Heritage Project, which involves building up a comprehensive database and photographic archive of all of the club's memorabilia and documents and bringing these to a wider audience through programme articles and educational activities.
She was extremely welcoming and supportive to me when I first arrived on the scene. She was also great fun to work with. She had a great sense of humour and a remarkable fund of amusing anecdotes and stories relating to her time as a City supporter. From the outset I was struck by how passionate she was about preserving the club's heritage. She is one of the most enthusiastic Leicester City supporters that I ever met. She even insisted that her coffin was painted blue! For years she moved in Directors' circles, following Leicester City all over the country and abroad. She was a very determined person and I was always struck by her ability to get things done.
She was closely involved in the planning of the proposed Museum for the Walkers Stadium before these plans fell by the wayside when the club went into Administration. She was also heavily involved in planning the LCFC Heritage display at the New Walk Museum in 2002. In 2005 she was the driving force behind procuring a dedicated storeroom for securely storing the club's memorabilia that is not on display. In this connection she held an Open Day at her house to raise money for a good shelving system for the memorabilia store room. The foundations she laid at this time were absolutely vital to the current project of creating the database and photographic archive, a project which gained a commendation in the "Best Special Project Category" in the 2006 Leicestershire and Rutland Museums Heritage Awards.
Last April, the club recognised Christine's contribution to the club by awarding her a Lifetime Achievement Award. She was thrilled by this very well deserved accolade. Her methods of working were creative and unorthodox, but her passion for the club always shone through. She will be greatly missed. Her bravery, dignity and stoicism in face of her terrible illness were remarkable and our thoughts are with her family at this time."
In concluding I would say that our only wish now at the Foxes Trust is that in addition to the gesture of a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ the club further honours her with the following actions:
· 100% and prompt support for John Hutchinson in taking the Heritage Project forward in the manner he deems appropriate as Christine’s successor and in accordance with her desire
· Setting a date by which the club intend to open a Museum – the ultimate aim of Christine!
I was going to say the ultimate ‘wish’ of Christine, but I will always remember her once saying to me:
‘Remember, a wish is a desire without an attempt’.
(After the end of the season a link to this article will be sent to Milan Mandaric and a request for both him and Paul Aldridge (new Chief Executive & replacement for Tim Davies) to read and acknowledge it).