SMITH, Dr. Esther Young, the renowned language teacher, in Tampa, Fla. on May 1, 2004, after an eight-month battle with appendix cancer. Dr. Smith leaves as her legacy several thousand students, who benefited from her highly unusual style of teaching. Dr. Smith's specialty was French and during the last ten years of her life, she trained foreign students and faculty in the English language. After receiving her B.A. in French from Wellesley College in 1961, Dr. Smith studied in France and earned a Masters degree from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1962. She taught French in high school, and then for the Peace Corps and also in West Africa. Later she worked as a translator for the US Dept. of State. After Dr. Smith completed her PhD in comparative literature from Indiana University in 1976, she taught French at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. In 1980 she came to UF to start a training program in French for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to expand UF's agricultural program s in French-speaking Africa. In 1993, Dr. Smith completed a post-graduate course of study in Teaching English as a Second Language at UF. From 1995-2000, she served as an Instructor and Academic Advisor for the American Language Academy at the Univ. of Tampa, then became an instructor for the Adult Literacy Program for Hillsborough County (2001-2004). She was absolutely dedicated to her students and the most enthusiastic teacher you can imagine. Beyond that she was not only her student's friend; she was everyone's friend and a reliable colleague. Survivors include her sister, Corinda Smith of Tampa, Fla.; her brother, Henry Smith of Lancaster, Pa.; and nieces, Madeline Hershey, and Christina Smith, both of Pennsylvania. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. on May 15, 2004, in the Grand Salon, the Main Lobby of the University of Tampa. She will be interred in Lancaster, Pa.