Brigitte Annette Smith

July 17, 1963 – March 14, 2022

Brigitte Annette Smith is survived by mother Brenda Annette Malinowski of Chappell Hill, Texas; sister Sandra Dee Taylor of Houston; step-brother Darrell Malinowski and wife Lisa of Cypress, step-brother Brian Malinowski and wife Kelly of Cypress, step-brother Scott Malinowski of San Jose, California; nephews Preston Ross Taylor and Rhett Jackson Taylor of Houston; aunt and uncle Nina and Henry Dean of Magnolia; aunt Billye Smith of Magnolia; and numerous cousins. She was preceded in death by father Laverne "Toby" Smith; sister Cindy Smith; step-father Eugene "Gene" Malinowski; brother-in-laws Lawrence "Larry" E. Taylor and David G. Allen; and fiancé Chris Pray.

Brigitte was born in Houston and grew up in Tomball, Texas. She was Toby and Brenda Smith's third child and considered the "baby of the family". Brigitte always loved the water, especially, swimming pools and the beach. She learned how to swim even before her older siblings. When she worked as a lifeguard/swim instructor for Tomball YMCA, her nickname was "the Pied Piper" because the kids would follow her everywhere around the pool. Brigitte spent many childhood days playing dress-up as a teacher, always pretending to be "Mrs. Ball" who was a teacher she once had in Tomball Elementary.

After graduating from Tomball High School and Sam Houston State University, she worked as a school teacher for many years at Klein ISD, Aldine ISD, and Houston ISD. Although she enjoyed teaching science and organizing the annual science fairs, her favorite assignment was teaching second grade at Benbrook Elementary.

Brigitte's favorite holiday was Christmas and she went all out with decorations and faithfully sending out Christmas cards every year to her many friends and relatives. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her nephews, Preston and Rhett, whom she loved slightly more than her cats, Jasmine and Jazzerbell (smile). She made it a point to keep up with her nephews' birthdays and accomplishments as she watched them grow up, and she did the same with her friends' children, too. She would let her sister and friends know how proud she was of their children at every opportunity.

Brigitte was outgoing and liked attending church, shopping, decorating her home, and playing games such as bingo and dominoes. She also enjoyed listening and dancing to good music, especially, music by the Rolling Stones, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Bob Seger, and Lionel Richie. Her favorite pastime was watching true crime stories and she liked telling people all about them. She would engage in conversation with everyone she met, and she loved to talk politics and current affairs. Her favorite celebrity was Jerry Seinfeld and her favorite politician was Donald J. Trump. Her Trump 2020 yard sign is in her garage (only because her subdivision won't allow political signs after elections are over) and her Trump 2020 key chain is still on her kitchen counter. Brigitte was a character, both fun-loving and lively. Parties with friends and family get-togethers will never be the same.

We miss her already.