Mignon Comer Smith, Avondale Mills heiress and philanthropist, dies at 81

WASHINGTON
Mignon Comer Smith, the Avondale Mills heiress who in 2004 established the largest private foundation for college scholarships in the history of the state, died Friday in Washington, D.C., She was 81.

Mignon Comer Smith

Begun with a gift of $10 million, the scholarship program has supported more than 99 students since inception, with 55 now in the program.
The four-year, full-tuition, room and board scholarships, which she named for her parents -- J. Craig and Paige T. Smith -- are awarded to students with records of service to their communities or families and have been focused on students who were the first in their families to go to college.
According to Ahrian Tyler Dudley, the foundation's administrator, the scholarship program now will receive an additional $20 million bequest from Smith.
"She had no children of her own so wanted to support the children of Alabama," Dudley said. "She wanted them to be her legacy."
Smith also gave millions to the University of Alabama, supporting the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility and the J. Craig Smith Endowment Chair for Integrity in Business.
"Opportunities provided by Miss Smith's desire to instill the values of integrity, honesty, and fair play have enhanced our students' understanding of the importance of engaged citizenship," said Deborah Lane, UA assistant vice president for university relations. Smith grew up in Sylacauga, where Avondale Mills was based, and attended the University of Alabama.
Opinionated and outspoken, Smith was a pioneering member of the Alabama Republican Party.
She once told her long-time friend June Cunniff that she'd moved to Washington, D.C., because she couldn't bear the thought of dressing up in a hat and gloves and going to the Mountain Brook Club every day.
Though she maintained a residence in Birmingham, she lived most of her adult life in Washington. In the 1970s, Smith was a correspondent for the Alabama Radio Network, sending home news in the Mignon C. Smith Washington/Alabama Report.
A lover of horses and the owner of a large stable operation, she was among the chief advocates and supporters of the drive to establish a horse racing track in Birmingham.
Active through her last day, Smith drove a 1976 Cadillac, nicknamed Gigi (Giant Green Gas-Guzzling Goddess) and lived in two apartments in Washington's Watergate complex.
She continued attending horse races and in her spare time she and her hired captain sailed the Chesapeake Bay on her 35-foot sailboat.
Dudley said that Smith, on the day she died of an apparent heart attack, had breakfast and was looking forward to a scheduled hair appointment. "She lived life to its fullest. She never slowed down in her zest for living," Dudley said.
Richard G. Mills Sr., a lifelong friend, said Smith was one of a kind.
"Mignon was herself. She had her own ideas. She set her own direction and didn't take a lot of guidance from anyone," he said.
Smith is throwing one last party at the Mountain Brook Club next Friday. According to her wishes, family and friends will gather there to celebrate her life to jazz music, barbecue and spirits. She didn't want a funeral, Dudley said. She wanted to be cremated and cast in the water from her sailboat.