Dede Smith's smile could light up the newsroom. The world is dimmer without her

Dede Smith was a constant source of light in the newsroom for the 15 years she served as the Times-Union's director of photography.

The newsroom got a little dimmer when Dede left in 2018. The world got a little dimmer when Dede left it last month.

The idea of Dede, only 61, slowly slipping away as she succumbed to cancer doesn't mesh with my, or anyone else's, experience with Dede. She was always a ball of energy, upbeat and positive.

The newsroom, especially in our old digs at 1 Riverside Ave., wasn't always a place that gave off energetic vibes. But Dede was always festive and could liven the place up in a heartbeat.

Dede and I had a decent amount in common, so we'd frequently find ourselves chatting. We'd talk about both having grown up in Gainesville. She'd talk about seeing Emmitt Smith play at UF when she was a student, I'd counter with stories of watching Tim Tebow when I was in school. We even both worked at The Gainesville Sun, albeit a decade apart, before making the journey northeast to further our careers at the Times-Union.

Dede was passionate about people. She never met a stranger, and she had time for everyone. For 15 years, she documented the people who make up the Northeast Florida community and helped tell their stories.

The moment I'll remember most about working with Dede was during Hurricane Irma. The Times-Union building along the riverfront was under an evacuation order, so working out of the newsroom wasn't an option. My power was out on the Southside, so no work was going to get done there, either. So I packed up and went to managing editor Clay Zeigler's house in Riverside, where he somehow still had electricity. There's a photo of me, Clay, Dede and photographer Bruce Lipsky, who had just gotten an iconic shot of the St. Johns River spilling violently into Memorial Park just a few blocks away, sitting around Clay's kitchen table and getting out news that our community needed as rapidly as possible.

A photo of the four of us perfectly captures the dynamic of working with Dede. On a day that was exhausting and stressful, there's Dede right in the middle with a look of sheer excitement as she looks through the photos Bruce came back with.

It was hard not to be happy when Dede was around. And it's hard not to be sad now that she isn't.

Paul Runnestrand is the executive editor of the Florida Times-Union. He may be reached at prunnestrand@jacksonville.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Dede Smith's smile could light up the newsroom. The world is dimmer without her