Cancer victim is inspiration for fundraisers

Tiffany Lewis Smith told people she hoped they would think of her whenever they see a sundog — those bright halos that sometimes appear around the sun when there is moisture in the air.

That's why Smith's friends decided to call a fundraising event being held in her memory the CALL Sundog Softball Tournament.

Smith, 41, a wife and the mother of two teenage boys, succumbed to cancer in May after a long illness.

The softball tournament, on Saturday, Sept. 30, starting at 9 a.m., will raise money to build a playground in Smith's memory at the Central Accomack Little League ball field on Hill Street in Onancock, where the event will take place.

Smith and her husband, Mark, along with sons Ross and Brandon, were active in little league for years. Tiffany Smith was CALL's safety officer and served as scorekeeper for the teams Mark coached — and she always was involved in little league fundraisers.

The softball tournament is for ages 16 and up. Teams of 10, five women and five men, must sign up by Sept. 1.

Sponsorships are available at levels from $100 up. Deadline is Aug. 31 for businesses or individuals' names to be on T-shirts.

The day of the tournament there will be concessions, T-shirts for sale, a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction.

For information, go to the Facebook event page, CALL Sundog Softball Tournament, or call Melissa Martin Payne at 757-710-3210 or Bill Petka at 757-710-3200.

Checks can be made payable to CALL, with Sundog Tournament in the subject line, and mailed to Jennifer McIntyre, PO Box 13, Onley, VA 23418.

It's the kind of event Tiffany Smith would have loved to help with.

Being involved in any activity to help other people was Smith's hallmark, friends and family say.

She was an active member of Tasley Volunteer Fire Company and Drummondtown Baptist Church, and always participated in March of Dimes walks.

Additionally, Smith for years volunteered for Relay for Life — a key fundraiser on the Eastern Shore of Virginia for cancer research, patient care and prevention programs.

A tribute to Smith will be part of this year's event.

The Relay for Life at Nandua High School in Onley will be held overnight starting on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 11 a.m. and continuing to 7 a.m. the next day.

Donors each year purchase around 2,500 luminarias, which are lit at Relay for Life Nandua in honor or in memory of loved ones.

This year luminarias spelling out the words HOPE and CURE will burn in the stands in Smith's memory, said Mary Bellis, senior community development manager for the Northeast Region for the American Cancer Society.

"She was just an exceptional girl," said Bellis, adding, "She was gracious and gentle and always had a smile on her face ... Tiffany was one of those givers."

Luminarias can be purchased, donations made and additional information found at the Relay for Life Nandua website.

The event also is on Facebook at Relay for Life of Nandua.

Smith was one of the Eastern Shore's biggest cheerleaders for cancer research long before she was stricken with the disease.

She was instrumental in forming a Relay for Life team at her workplace, Intrepid USA Healthcare Services, where she was business office manager.

"Tiffany was a remarkable person in that she was truly kind. In the more than 30 years I knew her, I can honestly say that I never heard her say anything unkind about anyone," said Coni Chandler of Intrepid.

"In fact, we used to tease her about getting tougher when she advanced to management. Thank goodness, she never did and her kindness and humble nature remain an inspiration to our Intrepid family," Chandler said.

The Shore's Relay for Life teams have a friendly competition each year to see who can raise the most money for the cause, but Mark Smith said that wasn't his wife's motivation.

"She raised money as a team, but she wasn't worried about winning — it was just dedication to trying to find a cure," said Mark Smith, adding, "She's been involved with it probably a good 15 years. It was just something she wanted to do."

Smith involved the whole family in the cause at times.

A newspaper clipping of a 2005 photograph published in the Eastern Shore News shows their two boys with the 17,700 pennies they collected for Relay for Life.

Smith said his wife's grandmother, Doris Lewis, died from cancer around the time Mark and Tiffany, who met at Nandua High School, started dating.

"That was the first hit she felt through cancer. That's probably what led her to think about that," he said.

The couple married in 1996.

Other relatives later were stricken with the disease, including Mark's grandmother and Tiffany's uncle, among others.

Relay for Life Nandua is among more than 5,000 Relay for Life events held around the world each year, Bellis said.

"The Relay for Life at Nandua is a traditional event — we walk overnight because cancer never sleeps, so neither do we," she said.

Funds raised through Relay for Life have helped the American Cancer Society invest some $4.6 billion in cancer research.

"The cause of cancer is very personal here on the Shore, because we know our neighbors and our friends and relatives — the people who are affected," Bellis said.

While the Shore is not a wealthy region, it is a generous one, she said.

In addition to funding research, the American Cancer Society offers a 24-7 call center, at 1-800-227-2345, where people can get customized information about different types of cancer and can get connected to local and other resources.

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On the Eastern Shore, volunteer drivers in a program called Road to Recovery drive patients to cancer treatments, clocking some 11,500 miles on the highway last year. Many of the drivers are cancer survivors themselves or family members of cancer survivors.

"It's a remarkable donation," Bellis said.

Melissa Martin Payne, one of Tiffany Smith's good friends, is helping organize the CALL Sundog Softball Tournament.

The two women met at work in 1998. They found they had interests in common, including clipping coupons and checking out thrift stores.

"I was here by myself. My family wasn't here, so she would invite me home for Thanksgiving. So I got to meet her family and they all kind of took me in," she said.

Smith was diagnosed with cancer on Feb. 19, 2014 — a date etched in her family and friends' hearts. She passed away on May 2, 2017.

"It's heartbreaking that we're not going to get to the cure fast enough for people that we really love, but we're not going to give up hope," Bellis said.

On Twitter @cvvaughnESN

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