Remembering Maggie Smith

    

    Jim Dale certainly is the voice that I hear when I think of Professor McGonagall, but the face of her will always be Dame Maggie Smith. I loved her portrayal of the head of Griffyndor house and appreciated how she brought to life this beloved character from the world of Harry Potter. I think it is fitting that she passed away exactly one year after Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in films 3-8. The Lord has a way of connecting things in His own kind of way, and this was one that stood out to me.

Tributes to actors and actresses can be difficult as I only know the person they portray on the screen, but Maggie, for her part, had an illustrious career, continuing to be in movies well into her 80’s. Before she was Professor McGonagall, she was, among other roles, Mother Superior in "Sister Act 1 and 2", supporting and giving help the Whoopi Goldberg’s character as she put together beautiful musical numbers with the nuns of the convent (“Nothing you can do can take me away from my God” and “Joyful, Joyful” are 2 of my favorites, not to mention, “His eye is on the sparrow” a new addition to the updated Hymnbook of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

She played in several on screen renditions of books and plays, "Downton Abbey", as well as World War II era timepieces. I loved the movie “Hook” as a child and only recently came to recognize Maggie Smith as Grandma Wendy. She was very intense in her attempts to help Peter understand who he really was,  Peter Pan.

Ultimately, I will always remember her for her role as the beloved Minerva McGonagall. She was great in demonstrating the ability to transfigure from witch to cat and back. She ushered her students around with the sternness and love that was described in the books. She developed her relationship with Harry in a manner that did not give him unnecessary passes and kept in line in appropriate ways. She danced with Ron in preparation for the yule ball. She comforted Professor Trelawney when she was sacked. She stood up to Snape when we still thought he was a bad guy. She was true in support of Dumbledore even after his death. Maggie Smith brought life to the character of Minerva McGonagall and will be greatly missed.