Margaret “Peggy” Smith Warner, wife of professor emeritus of Neurology John Warner Sr., MD, and a devoted supporter of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, died on Nov. 9, after a sudden illness. She was 88.
Mrs. Warner and the Warner family have provided philanthropic support across a range of areas at the Medical Center, from the Shade Tree Clinic, Vanderbilt’s medical student-run, free clinic, to the Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, among others. She served on the board — later becoming president — of the Canby Robinson Society, which recognizes philanthropic supporters of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Through decades of service and generous support, Dr. and Mrs. Warner have impacted the Medical Center and School of Medicine in countless ways. As we mourn Mrs. Warner’s passing, we will remember her fondly. She was a caring, hands-on leader who devoted herself to multiple causes that are vital to our mission,” said, Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of the School of Medicine. “At this time our thoughts are with Dr. Warner, Mary Laird and the many members of the Warner family who are also devoted members of the Vanderbilt family.”
“The passing of Peggy Warner is a great loss,” said Paul Sternberg Jr., MD, Chief Medical Officer Emeritus and Medical Director of Development. “She was a beloved friend whose kindness and generosity touched so many aspects of Nashville and Vanderbilt.
“She adored our Medical Center and treasured her opportunities to support us through her leadership of the Canby Robinson Society and Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, while also having a daughter, son and grandson train at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Her legacy reaches across so many aspects of our community that has been bettered by her committed engagement.”
In 2007, the Margaret and John Warner Chair for Neurological Education was established in their honor. It was first awarded to Robert Macdonald, MD, PhD, past chair of the Department of Neurology.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss,” said Dane Chetkovich, MD, PhD, Margaret and John Warner Professor of Neurological Education and chair of the Department of Neurology. “Mrs. Warner and her husband, professor emeritus of Neurology John Warner, have been wonderful supporters of the Department of Neurology. The establishment of the Margaret and John Warner Chair for Neurological Education has been critically important in supporting the research and educational growth of the department.
“Their gift, and others like it, are responsible for our rising into the top 20 of NIH-funded departments of neurology in the United States. Their generous philanthropy has been incredible for our department.”
Mrs. Warner was actively involved in Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, a volunteer organization supporting the hospital through fundraising, outreach and programs. She served as its president in 1983, a time of considerable expansion in the specialized services and care provided to pediatric patients.
Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, President of Monroe Carell, said Mrs. Warner was “a much-loved friend and advocate of the hospital.
“She was a tireless champion and supporter of our work and our patients and their families,” Rush said. “We are grateful for her compassionate heart for our programs to improve the lives and health of children. Mrs. Warner and the Warner family have touched countless lives with their gifts and compassion.”
As a magna cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University, earning an English degree, Mrs. Warner was fiercely proud of the strong ties spanning more than a century between the Warner family and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM). Soon, five graduates will be recorded across the generations of their family tree.
Her husband John, who graduated from VUSM in 1956, followed in the path of his father, Robert Warner, MD, an ophthalmologist who graduated in the class of 1920. The couple’s son, John Sloan Warner Jr., MD, a vascular surgeon, graduated in 1988. Their daughter, Mary Laird Warner, MD, graduated in 1990 and is the current president of the Vanderbilt Medical Alumni Association. Dr. and Mrs. Warner’s grandson Russell O. Stewart Jr. is currently an MD candidate in the class of 2026.
Born on Sept. 13, 1936, Mrs. Warner attended Robertson Academy and entered Harpeth Hall School in Nashville in the year of its founding. She attended Sweet Briar College for two years prior to transferring to Vanderbilt University. In 1958, she married John Warner, and they moved to Minneapolis for his medical training. After living in Portsmouth, Virginia, and Durham, North Carolina, the family — now including three young children — returned home to Nashville in 1965.
She immersed herself in community organizations, serving as president or chair of nearly every board she joined. Notably, she served as president of the Junior League of Nashville and chair of the Board of Trustees of Ensworth School.
Mrs. Warner was devoted to her alma mater, Harpeth Hall, where she served as chair of the Board of Trustees. 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.
Mrs. Warner also used her gift of leadership in the civic realm. She served as a city commissioner and then mayor of Belle Meade. She was also a member of the inaugural class of Leadership Nashville.
She was an active member of the Nashville chapter of the Garden Club of America, the Centennial Club, the Review Club and the International Study Club. She was a communicant of Christ Church Cathedral and St. George’s Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Warner is 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 67 years, John Sloan Warner, MD; daughter Jeannette Sloan Warner, son J. Sloan Warner Jr., MD (Jane), and daughter Mary Laird Warner, MD (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.
Visitation will be at St. George’s Church, 4715 Harding Pike in Nashville, on Friday, Nov. 15, 3-4:30 p.m., with a memorial service there on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made in Peggy’s honor to the Harpeth Hall School www.harpethhall.org or to the Land Trust for Tennessee www.landtrusttn.org.
