Marie Smith died at her Malibu home Jan. 6.
Smith was born in 1954.
“She was our guiding light and our hearts are broken, but not so much that we won’t try to live up to her example by drawing strength from our family and expressing love and joy at all of the good we see around us,” Smith’s family wrote. “So long as we do that, she’ll never be far away and we’ll always be able to count on her guidance.”
Smith is survived by her family, Gerry, Sally, Kitty and Jim.
A memorial is taking place Jan. 15 at noon at the Malibu High School track, 30215 Morning View Dr. Attendees are asked to bring two pairs of running shoes-one to wear in a lap of celebration and another to donate to Soles4Souls.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, at cancer.org/involved/donate.