‘Death of my hero.’ Carolinians share memories of environmentalist Anne Springs Close

Carolinians on social media shared special memories of philanthropist Anne Springs Close, the matriarch of the Springs family in South Carolina who died at home on Friday at age 95.

She succumbed to injuries a couple days after she was hurt by a falling tree limb on her family property in Fort Mill, according to a statement from the Anne Springs Close Greenway named in her honor

“Between her indomitable spirit, her sense of humor and a fatalism born of deep religious faith, the irony of being felled by a branch while sitting on a bench outside her home of 95 years was not lost on her,” according to the statement. “At the hospital, she remarked with characteristic wryness, ‘I saved one too many trees.’ ”

Close was a community benefactor and outdoor enthusiast whose philanthropy touched countless thousands, including through college scholarships, the expansive greenway that opened in 1995 in her name and, more recently, her public support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Here are a few recollections people posted on Facebook and in emails to The Charlotte Observer:

‘I can never repay her’

Because of her generous spirit, Close became a lifelong role model to Miguel Caldwell and other youths.

“Mrs. Anne Springs Close represented the kind of life I aspire to lead,” the Winthrop University Close Scholar and elementary school education major posted on Facebook Friday.

“A life of love, devotion, and service,” Caldwell posted. “I can never repay her for what she added to my life. Being a Close Scholar is more than a scholarship, it has cultivated a way of life for me.

“Her life will be missed but her legacy will live on. Rest in power beautiful soul.”

‘Blessed the lives she touched’

Close likewise inspired author Janie Mines. On Facebook, Mines called Close’s passing “the death of my hero.”

Mines was the only Black woman in the first class of women at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1976.

Close features prominently in the acknowledgment section of her book, “No Coincidences,” Mines said.

“If we are magnificently blessed we meet someone who truly inspires us,” Mines said. “She blessed the lives she touched. I will miss her dearly.”

Son was ‘all smiles’

Close similarly inspired kids at the greenway’s equestrian center.

Tevis Vandergriff IV recalled on Facebook how Close not only was “an outstanding rider” but “loved seeing children learn how to ride.”

They included his son, Kees, Vandergriff said. Vandergrill happened to be sitting beside “Ms. Anne” at a horse show one day when his son got on a horse in the arena.

“She sat up and remarked, ‘Who is that young man riding my horse?’

“I smiled and said, ‘Ms Anne, that’s my son, Kees.’

“She smiled and said, ‘I’ve never seen anyone handle my horse that well. Your son sure can ride. I must meet him.”

After the show, Close approached his son, Vandergrill said.

“I’m not sure what was said between the two, but he was all smiles. He started working there his freshman year of high school and their paths continued to cross, continuing their discussion of life and horses.”

Always out-rode her

On Facebook, Bailey MacDaniel affectionately recalled how she never wanted to be in a competition class with Close during a horse show, “because, well, at no matter the age, you could always out ride me.

“The stories of the past you shared will stay with me forever,” MacDaniel posted. “The times at Lowrys, and y’all know she wouldn’t let us go hungry, so getting to chow down on fried chicken and laughs despite how cold it might have been.

“The Christmas parties at the homestead, the Christmas Eve rides I’d tack horses up for you and your family. Every chance you got to ride, you’d be in the woods. You’d be happy. And I’ll always know that if the suns shining, outdoors is where you should be.”

‘Singularly unpretentious’

Over many years, Jim Casada saw first-hand the difference Close made to protect the outdoors and for everyone’s enjoyment.

Casada served multiple terms with Close on the York County Forever Commission, the land-conservation organization.

“Anne may have been born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, but in person and personality she was singularly unpretentious,” Casada told the Observer in an email Saturday. “What she cared about, and cared about with an abiding passion, was protecting, preserving, and passing on our natural heritage to future generations.”

Lunch line encounter

Donald Lownds recalled on Facebook how Close was right behind him one day in the lunch order line at The Peach Stand specialty food store in Fort Mill, S.C.

“Pair of jeans, hiking boots and flannel shirt,” Lownds posted of Close. “Hair just tousled about.

“I said, ‘Mrs Close, jump up here ahead of me and order lunch.’

“She smiled and said, “thank you, but I stand in line like everyone else.’

“Story of her life,” Lownds said. “Putting others ahead of herself so many times.”