A Dover woman who was well-known for her weather reports and commitment to the church has died.

Rae Smith, 92, was living at River Lee House residential home in Lower Road, River.

She previously lived in Trefor Jones Court, Dover, with her husband Harry, before he died in 2011.

Harry and Rae, who were married for 60 years, moved to Dover in 1952, and Harry worked as a prison officer.

Mrs Smith sung in the choir at Christ Church, then at River Methodist Church and Wesley Methodist Church, where she was also secretary and treasurer.

After leading devotions at St Edmund’s Chapel on one occasion, she studied to become a Methodist lay preacher and was accredited in 1980.

She worked as a receptionist at the Hotel de France, in a wood yard at Martin Walters and for four years she collected Dover’s weather information.

Daily trips

This meant daily trips to the top of the clock tower to take meteorological readings, then to the weather station on the seafront.

Her son Nigel, 66, from Whitfield, said she was once
caught up in a murder investigation.

The retired police officer said he came home to find his mum being interviewed by police who wanted her expertise on rainfall to try to get more information on a body that had been found in the reservoir at East Cliff.

She was also a liaison officer for the Channel Swimmers Association, she sung in Dover Choral Society and would even play the church organ from time to time.

Mrs Smith had another son, Derek, 68, a Channel Tunnel train driver, six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and seven great great- grandchildren.

She died of pneumonia at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford on February 16.

n The funeral will be held on Friday, March 13, at Barham Crematorium, at 2pm.