MIMI REID SMITH passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday, May 15. She was predeceased by her husbands, Edward Harvey Sanders and Hugh Milby Alexander Smith, M.D.; her son, George Clarke Sanders; and her step-daughters, Nancy Smith Johnston and Mimi Smith Mallory. She leaves her son, William Reid Sanders and his wife Chris, along with her two beloved grandchildren, Christeve Aubrey Sanders and William Reid Sanders, Jr. She is also survived by her sister, Tito Stratton; her step-children, Jean Sanders Kirkpatrick and her husband, Bob, of Russellville, KY; Harvey Sanders of Memphis; and Normi Sanders Geske and her husband, Tim, also of Memphis. Additionally, she leaves a host of step-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Mrs. Smith was a native of Covington, TN, later moving to Memphis with her family. She attended Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), and held membership in a myriad of volunteer and social organizations, including the Woman's Exchange of Memphis, the Antiquarians, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Memphis Country Club, and the Memphis Hunt and Polo Club. Mimi Smith's life was informed by her love of gardening and flower arranging, and it was in those areas that she spent much of her considerable energy and talents. As a child, she was given her own small garden plot, along with the happy task of keeping flowers on the family's dining room table. She took this childhood experience and continued to develop her horticultural and artistic abilities throughout her life. As a member of the Memphis Garden Club, Mimi excelled in both local and national arenas. She was twice the co-chair of the MGC's Flowers and Art Show, in 1982 and 1984, and was the show's Artistic Chairman in 1994. For her tireless efforts, she was awarded the Margaret Oates Dixon Award for outstanding achievement of a Memphis Garden Club member at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, and in 1987, she was presented with the Norfleet Trophy, the Memphis Garden Club's highest award. Nationally, Mimi was the first local garden club member to win the Garden Club of America's Fenwick Medal for flower arranging, in 1984. In 1989, she earned the GCA's Harriet DeWade Puckett Creativity Award, for "innovative and uniquely skillful" flower arranging. Her lasting legacy, combining her beauty and spirituality, is Memphis's Episcopal Diocesan Flower Festival. Mrs. Smith had the idea of bringing the festival, a feast of flowers, music, and worship, to St. John's Episcopal Church, where she was a parishioner and a longtime member of the Altar Guild. She spearheaded the festival's creation, and shepherded it for many years, watching it develop into a robust institution. She considered the event to be, in her words, "an offering to God," and the annual celebration continues as a living tribute to this talented lady. Mimi Reid Smith's graciousness, patience, and wealth of talents guided and inspired many. Lord Byron said, "She walks in beauty, like the night" Mimi helped to create beauty for us to walk in and in which to see the face of God. Graveside services will be 10 a.m. Thursday, May 20, at St. John's Cemetery. A reception will immediately follow in the Parish Hall at St. John's Episcopal Church. The family asks that memorials be directed to St. John's Episcopal Church, Rhodes College or the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Canale Funeral Directors (Published in The Commercial Appeal on May 18, 2010)