BIOGRAPHY

Smithgall was born in East Point, Georgia, United States, on 1 April 1911. She was raised in Atlanta, where her father served as a city councilman. From an early age, she developed a deep interest in nature, music, books, and the arts, greatly influenced by her father. She graduated cum laude from Girls High School in 1929 and pursued her passion for writing at the University of Georgia’s journalism school. While in college, she served as president of the Women’s Student Government, received the Sigma Delta Chi journalism award, and was a member of Theta Sigma Chi Women in Journalism, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism in 1933, she began working as an advertising copywriter for $10 a week at Atlanta radio station WGST. There, she met her future husband, Charles Smithgall, who was an announcer. They started dating and were married on 27 October 1934, in the minister’s study at Druid Hills Baptist Church. When Charles was hired by WSB, she followed at the urging of general manager Lambdin Kay. The couple lived on a farm outside Atlanta for a time, where they both learned to milk a cow. Charles began expanding his reach by acquiring radio stations and started WGGA in Gainesville in 1941. The Smithgalls founded the Gainesville Daily Times on 26 January 1947, after purchasing the weekly Gainesville Eagle. She wrote for the Atlanta Journal Sunday magazine and later took on a columnist role at the Gainesville paper. In her Gainesville Times column, she covered a wide range of topics but primarily focused on community events and local people, eventually wearing out her old Corona portable typewriter. She was also a charter member of the Northeast Georgia Writers Club and a member of the American League of Pen Women.

While actively engaging in Hall County’s community life, she managed the busy schedules of their four children—Elizabeth “Bay” Watts, Thurmond, Charles III, and John—guiding them through school and their activities from their Park Street home. In 1955, the family moved to a new home on Blue Ridge Drive.

Smithgall was a founder and the first president of The Arts Council, which was established in 1970, and she continued to support the Council throughout her life. The Smithgalls provided the initial matching funds for the purchase and renovation of the old Gainesville Midland Depot property in downtown Gainesville, transforming it into the Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center. Additionally, she funded the acquisition and preservation of the old First Methodist Church building on Green Street, which was converted into a performing arts complex. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. She served her church, First Baptist on Gainesville’s Green Street, in various capacities, including as a Sunday school teacher.

Smithgall was a Girl Scout as a child and maintained her membership and support throughout her life. A tennis player since the age of 12, when her father gave her a tennis racket, she had tennis courts built behind her house and continued to play until she was 89 years old. She loved traveling the world with her husband and children, and one of her highlights was a 1984 trip to Rwanda with her daughter Bay.

Lessie Smithgall passed away in Gainesville, Georgia, USA, on 25 June 2021 at the age of 110 years, 85 days. She was survived by her sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Lessie Smithgall passed away in Gainesville, Georgia, USA, on 25 June 2021 at the age of 110 years, 85 days. She was survived by her sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* “A century with Lessie Smithgall” – Gainesville Times, 27 March 2011

* “Lessie Smithgall: Philanthropist, Journalist & Friend to the Arts” – Georgia Tech Alumni Association

* “Lessie Smithgall Obituary” – Little & Davenport Funeral Home

GALLERY