Faye Smith, a co-founder of the Daystar University in Athi River, has passed on after battling a long illness.
A statement from the institution showed that the co-founder died aged 95 years.
She was eulogised as a woman with a cheerful spirit, a gifted curator of information, and remembered for her many gifts.
"Through the years, Faye was a strong and close companion for Don (Don Smith, her husband), as they pursued their missionary calling together," read the eulogy in part.
"She will be remembered for her many gifts, cheerful spirit, and as a gifted curator of information. She suffered declining health in the last seven years, leading to her departure."
According to the statement, a funeral service will be held at the Main Campus Amphitheatre on Saturday, 14 October 2023. Burial will then follow afterward at the Heroes Corner beginning at 10 a.m.
Faye and her husband founded the university in 1974 after acquiring property in Nairobi with support from US friends and the Tyndale Foundation. At the time the company was known as Daystar Communications.
The company then became Daystar University College and was later, in 1994, awarded a Charter for Daystar University.
Born on December 26, 1928, in Eugene, Oregon, Faye married Don on June 25, 1950.
They began their missionary career in 1952 in South Africa.
Don and Faye later relocated to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where they started Daystar Communications with Motsoko Pheko.
She is survived by her husband of 73 years, Donald K. Smith; Son: D. Vance Smith, his wife Lucia Smith, and their daughter Olivia Smith; Daughter: Julisa Rowe, her husband Bill Rowe, and their sons, Kendall Rowe and Nathaniel Rowe.
