Rose Eleanor (Binsted) Smith 
June 30, 1938 - November 9, 2025 

Rose Eleanor Smith died Nov. 9 at her home in Menifee, Calif., surrounded by family. She was 87. Rose was born in Brentwood, Penn., outside of Pittsburgh. As a young teen, the family drove across country to San Diego. With her was her beloved father, Alfred Thomas Binsted, mother Edna May (Taylor) Binsted and brother and partner-in-crime, Alfred (“Al” or “Binny”) Thomas Binsted, Jr., one year her senior. Rose was named after her paternal grandmother, Rose Eleanor Tinworth. She called herself a tomboy and said she and her brother had a lot of fun, especially galavanting around the woods near their grandmother’s home in Pennsylvania. Whenever the duo got in trouble, they faced the music together, she said, always refusing to tell on one another. She always remembered the surprise party her brother threw for her 16th birthday. She said the only downfall to grandma’s was the outside bathroom, which was so cold in winter and so scary at night as a child. As an adult, though, she was pretty fearless, a strong woman, ferocious in protection of her three children, Laurie, Catherine (“Cathy”) and Richard (“Rich”). Her “favorite oldest child,” “favorite middle child” and “favorite youngest child.” She had a great sense of humor, and her expressions live on. When one of her kids left the house, promising to be back, she’d say, “Thanks for the warning.” When a grandkid would disobey, she’d warn, “I’ll deck you.” Grandsons rambunctious in the car on the way home from school? “Knock it off, or I’ll put on KFRG.” (Back when country music was unpopular with youngsters). She wore a T-shirt stating, “Be Nice or Go Away.” Rose graduated from Hoover High School and attended San Diego State University for almost four years. She was quite active in a sorority there. Rose had stories about her youth -- wild trips to Tijuana with fellow staffers at the San Diego Union Tribune, a near-marriage, late-night trip to Vegas, a fall from a boyfriend’s dad’s polo pony, playing tennis or lounging on the beach with her good friend, Father Topping. Rose was beautiful, smart, athletic, popular. She said she was shy as a child. As an adult, that was hard to believe. She met her future husband of 50+ years, Donald Gerald Smith, in a Pacific Beach bar. They were married three months later, at Mission San Diego. Fodder for more laughs came from the priest who married them later leaving the church and getting married himself. The young couple lived in North Mission Beach for several years, and were often found on a volleyball court. In the late 1960s, the family relocated to Huntington Beach, after Don was offered a promotion. Rose was active in her children’s schools in every community she lived in, volunteering in the classroom and working as the “lunch lady.” She had a huge heart for kids, and later worked as a guidance tech at a continuation school in the Newport Mesa school district. She was a mom to more than her three biological kids. Over the years, several teenagers sought refuge at the Smith home. They were welcomed and encouraged. Her kids’ friends walked in the back door, knowing not only that they didn’t need to knock, b ut that the Smiths would be happy to see them. Rose had rules she expected one to follow, but there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her children or grandchildren. Rich excelled at several sports, and she was at every game. She coached one co-ed soccer team that Cathy played on. When the girls were 11 and 12, they fell in love with horses. So she drove them to the stables almost every day, after school and on weekends. Rose was a trooper. She held parties for Don’s work staff and cooked countless holiday meals. The couple moved from Huntington Beach to Menifee in the early 1990s, when Laurie needed them to watch her two children on work days. Rose was well-known in the Palmilla community where they lived. Hours were spent at the pool, dances at the Menifee Lakes Country Club and at The Ponderosa, at Book Club, Bunco, doing water aerobics with fellow Menifee Mermaids, and more, not to mention all the grandkids’ activities. Later, she drove to Temecula to care for her son’s two boys after school and also cared for Cathy’s daughter for a few years. She loved the Dodgers, Golden Retrievers, a good book, a Lemon Drop Martini, laughing with friends and the beach. But most of all, she cherished having all of her family around. To say she will be missed falls far short-we can’t believe she’s gone. A big void is here. Up there? More joy. “The Big Guy,” as she called Him. Rose is survived by her children, Laurie Fineman (and Jerry) of Colorado Springs; Cathy Kelly (and Mike) of Menifee and Felton, Calif., and Richard Smith (and Maria) of Temecula; grandchildren Katie Larkee, Thomas Vallez, Lauren Redfern and Lucas and Nathan Smith; two great-grandchildren, nieces Kristin Diele (and Nick) of Fallbrook and Monica Binsted, and many beloved friends, adopted children and neighbors. 

A celebration of life will be 4 p.m. Jan. 2 at Palmilla Community Center, 29892 Fernleaf Drive, Menifee.