October 21, 1944 – November 25, 2024
Frances Michael Smith Raley, who went by Mike and Mikel, was born to Helen Grace Savage Smith and Francis Michael Smith on Oct. 21, 1944, in Nassawadox, Virginia. She passed away on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, from old age with family by her side and an Irish ditty on the radio.
She is survived by her children, Wendra Beth Raley-Gonzalez, Shellen Dawn Raley-Masterman, Wade, and grandchildren, Fionna Skye Raley-Theberge, Lorenzo Antonio Gonzalez and Saredhiel Moon Raley Masterman.
Mike attended Berklee College of Music for jazz singing and first performed in public on The Horn and Hardart Children’s Hour show at age 8. Later, she moved to New York City and sang in Manhattan’s night scene.
Mike graduated from the University of Delaware with a BA in English while raising three young children as a single mother, then later packed up those three children and moved to New York City with little else but a dream. She published two poems in New York’s Just Pulp Magazine and an original play was produced and performed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
In her spare time, she watched shows about the cosmos. Knowing that “energy can’t be created or destroyed,” she would say, “When I die, my energy will transform. What’s important is what kind of energy you send out to the universe. Make it good.” Mike was an animal lover and rescued many (including insects).
Her smile lit up a room; her passion was a guiding light for all who knew her. Her legacy will continue to inspire and guide us. As we grapple with losing her physical presence, we know that her spirit lives on through her music, poetry, curiosity and love for life.
An Ocean of Love
By Mikel Raley
An ocean of love
We give to you in
Starry vault above
Not to be contained within
Now, elegies and love
For you must fly,
Into the sky
Into eternity
Beyond all time,
A song sublime
To live, and breathe and be…
A melody to drift upon
The moonbeams
shining through
The misty curtain
Of the night
That we here spend with you
The morning sun
Will bring us joy
And happiness that lasts
Through sleet and hail and
Wintry gale
Once the storm has passed
And so you see,
It’s meant to be
Our love is forever true
So dream, be free
Beyond the sea
And we will be with you
And we’ll soon be with you