Rebecca Susan Smelser

Rebecca Susan Smelser, “Becky” to her friends and family, passed away on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in Belle Isle, Florida, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She leaves a rich legacy -- a community united and elevated by music, art, and travel; scores of musicians who found their literal and figurative voices through her instruction and mentorship; and many deep and enduring friendships.

Becky was born Rebecca Susan Rhea on Feb. 5, 1945, in Hastings, Nebraska. She grew up in Steelville, Missouri, with her parents, Manford and Nancy Rhea, and younger brother Halleck “Hal” Rhea in a house on Christmas Tree Hill filled with music and surrounded by woods and wildlife.

She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in music education and spent a year teaching music in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. The following year, she married fellow OBU music graduate Daniel Smelser and moved to Boston, where she taught music in the Weston, Massachusetts public schools. She was a featured soprano soloist in the Nashua (New Hampshire) Choral Society and sang in the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under the direction of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa. She taught music and drama at Plumfield Camp in the White Mountains of New Hampshire during the summers.

The couple moved to Ailey, Georgia, in 1973, where Becky became an adjunct voice instructor at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon. In 1975, they had their only child Judith. They soon moved to nearby Vidalia, Georgia, which Becky called home until 2018, when she moved to the Orlando, Florida, area to be near Judith and her husband.

After moving to Vidalia, Becky quickly became a leader of its arts and culture community. She became the music director at Vidalia Presbyterian Church, where she served for over 40 years. She left Brewton-Parker and launched the Rebecca Smelser Voice Studio, teaching students of all ages for roughly 30 years. She was chosen as the first official director of the Altama Museum of Art and History, curating permanent and rotating exhibits and overseeing the historic Brazell House where the museum is housed.

In 1988, Becky became the director of the Vidalia Community Chorus, where she worked with volunteer singers from all walks of life to create elaborate classical and pops performances whose musical and theatrical excellence was praised as being worthy of a much larger city. In 1991, she led the chorus on the first of many European tours. During her tenure, the group performed in the UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Italy.

Becky had a passion for travel and a talent for planning fun and enriching vacations for her family and later, for herself. She took her family on road trips across the country, camping in national parks from North Carolina to Colorado to Utah to California. Her main passion, however, was European travel. She particularly adored the small towns and tiny villages of Gimmelwald in Switzerland, Certaldo in Italy, and Bergen in Norway, all of which she explored as a solo traveler in her 60s.

She somehow managed all these achievements while being an exemplary mom – driving all over the region to take Judith to ballet, drama classes, and gymnastics; planning legendary birthday parties; and being a sounding board, shoulder to cry on, first-rate travel companion, and best friend.

In addition to her daughter Judith, Becky is survived by her son-in-law, Stephen Mort; brother Halleck Rhea; cousins Jane Bishop and Ann Nelms; nieces and nephews Susan Goudie, Amy Arens, and James Rhea; former husband Daniel Smelser; beloved Yorkshire terrier Baci; and many grateful students and choristers.

A celebration of Becky’s life will take place on June 29, 2024, at Vidalia Presbyterian Church. All are welcome. Her remains will be scattered at Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina, where she attended the annual Worship and Music Conference and spent many happy hours enjoying the streams and mountains on and around the campus.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Altama Museum of Art and History (https://www.altamamuseum.org/donate), Vidalia Presbyterian Church (https://www.vidaliapres.org/give/), Yorkie Haven Rescue (https://yorkiehavenrescue.com/), or your nonprofit of choice.