Margaret Smith Warner

Margaret ‘Peggy’ Smith Warner of Nashville, Tennessee passed away on Saturday, November 9, 2024, after a sudden illness with her family at her bedside. She was 88.

She was preceded in death by her parents Henry Laird Smith, Sr. and Margaret Thompson Smith and her brother Henry Laird Smith, Jr. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Dr. John Sloan Warner; daughter Jeannette Sloan Warner, son Dr. J. Sloan Warner, Jr. (Jane), and daughter Dr. Mary Laird Warner (Russell Stewart); grandchildren Jerome Blakeman Goldstein, Margaret Warner Goldstein, John Sloan Warner III, Colton Day Warner, Russell Orson Stewart, Jr. and Henry Laird Stewart; brother Overton Thompson Smith (Jeanette); and sister-in-law Catharine Donahoe Smith.

Born on September 13, 1936, Peggy attended Robertson Academy and entered Harpeth Hall School in the year of its founding, serving as president of the senior class before graduating in 1954. She attended Sweet Briar College for two years prior to transferring to Vanderbilt University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She graduated with an English degree magna cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

In 1958, Peggy married John Warner, and they moved to Minneapolis for his medical training. After living in Portsmouth, VA and Durham, NC, they returned home to Nashville in 1965 with three young children in tow.

Peggy led a full, gracious, and meaningful life as a civic and community leader, wise and supportive friend, devoted wife and mother, and so much more.

Upon returning to Nashville, she immersed herself in community organizations. It is a tribute to Peggy’s leadership skills that she was named “President” or “Chairman” of nearly every board she joined. She served as president of the Junior League of Nashville, president of the Friends of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ensworth School, among others.

Peggy was most devoted to her alma mater, Harpeth Hall, where she served as chairman of the Board of Trustees during a pivotal period in its history, strengthening its financial sustainability and reaffirming its commitment to excellence in girls’ education. She was later named an honorary trustee of Harpeth Hall and received the Louise ‘DeDe’ Bullard Wallace Award for her outstanding contributions to the school.

Peggy understood the power of philanthropy and was an effective fundraiser for institutions that she championed. She co-chaired the Swan Ball, then benefitting Cheekwood, and also served on the board – later becoming president – of the Canby Robinson Society, supporting Vanderbilt Medical School.

In later years, she used her gift of leadership in the civic realm. She served as a city commissioner and then mayor of the City of Belle Meade. Family and friends wore bright yellow T-shirts emblazoned “Peggy for Mayor,” as they canvased neighborhoods in her support. She was also a member of the inaugural class of Leadership Nashville and served on the board of the trust department of the Nashville branch of First Tennessee Bank and the board of the trust department of First American Bank.

In their summer home in Cashiers, NC, Peggy was founder and President of the Cashiers Historical Society and proclaimed Chattooga Club Citizen of the Year.

Business aside, Peggy was just plain fun. She cherished time among friends as an active member of the Nashville chapter of the Garden Club of America, the Centennial Club, the Review Club, the International Study Club, and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. She was a communicant of Christ Church Cathedral and St. George’s Episcopal Church.

In so many areas, Peggy simply excelled. Her thumb could not have been any greener, her scratch-made bread any tastier, or her tennis forehand any more formidable. She loved being in the outdoors, whether hiking trails in Cashiers, scuba diving in Bonaire, or serving as “first mate” when she and John sailed around the Caribbean and Aegean Seas with the ‘Sheppard Place Navy.’

Visitation will be at St. George’s Church on Friday, November 15, 3:00-4:30 PM, with a memorial service there on Saturday, November 16 at 11 AM.

The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Sheila Royster and Paula Bourne for their care of Mrs Warner and support of Dr. Warner.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift in Peggy’s honor to the Harpeth Hall School www.harpethhall.org or to the Land Trust for Tennessee www.landtrusttn.org.