Margaret du Pont Smith, 79, patron of the arts

Margaret du Pont Smith, a descendant of the founder of the DuPont Co., an expert on early American furniture and a supporter of charities and the arts, died Sunday of complications of cancer. She was 79 and lived in Bryn Mawr.

Peggy, as she was known to family and friends, grew up in Wilmington, Del. Her father, the late Henry B. du Pont Jr., was vice president and director of the DuPont Co. as well as chairman of Christiana Securities and the Longwood Foundation. Her mother, the late Margaret W. Lewis, was from San Antonio, Texas.

Peggy attended the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Va., before meeting her husband of 59 years, E. Newbold Smith, prominent investment banker, yachtsman and civic leader. They raised four children on their farm in Paoli.

Besides her family and friends, Peggy's passion was antiques, particularly early American furniture. She was actively involved in the Philadelphia Antiques Show since its inception in 1962. She was co-chairperson of the event in 1977 and 1978, and for many years was chairperson of the advisory committee.

She also served on the boards of the Community Clothes Charity, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and the Academy of Music, where she was co-chairperson for the 123rd concert and ball.

She was also a director of the Atlantic Aviation Co., founded by her father.

An unpleasant event in her life came in the late '80s when she and her husband obtained a court order declaring their son, Lewis du Pont Smith. incompetent to manage his personal affairs, including an inheritance valued at about $11 million.

The Smiths felt that Lewis and his wife, Andrea, were being unduly influenced by political maverick Lyndon LaRouche.

Newbold Smith and three others were charged in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., of conspiring to kidnap Lewis and "deprogram" him. They were acquitted in 1993.

The court order was lifted in 1994 and Lewis was declared competent to manage his fortune.

Besides her husband and son, Peggy is survived by two other sons, Stockton N. Smith and Henry B. du Pont Smith; a daughter, Eleuthera "Ellie" Grassi; a brother, Edward B. duPont, and 13 grandchildren. She was predeceased by another brother, Henry B. Du Pont III.

Services: 11 a.m. today at the Chapel of St. David's Episcopal Church, 763 S. Valley Forge Rd., Wayne. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania c/o Penn Medicine Office of Development, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia 19104.