Established in 1988 by her husband former Governor Hullett Smith and the Bank of Raleigh (City National), this endowment commemorates the life of a gracious First Lady of the State who died in 1987. She was born at Beckley and attended Arlington Hall School in Washington, D. C. and Ward Belmont Junior College in Nashville, TN. As First Lady, she supervised a major renovation of the WV Governor’s Mansion. She also promoted civic causes such as public health issues and early childhood education programs. Income from this endowment was originally used for a student emergency fund at historic Beckley College (renamed Mountain State University). It was re-designated to assist students at the University of Charleston-Beckley following closure of MSU in 2013.
