“I saved one too many trees.”
These were some of the last words of noted conservationist and philanthropist Anne Springs Close, as she lay in a hospital bed after being struck by a falling branch outside her home of 95 years, according to a post by the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, which she founded in 1995. Close died on Friday, Aug. 20, at the age of 95.
While most famous for the creation of the greenway and for her work in the creation of the communities of Baxter and Kingsley, Close had a number of other personal achievements. According to the article from the Close Greenway, she was the first woman on the board of Wofford College in Spartanburg, was chairman of the National Recreation Association for 15 years and traveled to more than 60 different countries.
“She led an unbelievable life,” said Elizabeth Bowers, communications director at the nonprofit Leroy Springs & Company, which manages the Anne Springs Close Greenway. “I mean, she was the last living person to have flown on the Hindenburg. She … summited Mount Washington in ‘88, hiked Mount Kilimanjaro three times. Those are probably some of the bigger accomplishments that she was known for.”
Close stayed active both in her community and her family’s organizations to the end. She was on the board of the Leroy Springs & Company, a recreation nonprofit founded by her grandfather in 1938 for over 40 years, and served as the chairman of the Springs Close Foundation, which provides financial assistance to those in need, grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships for college students, from 1983 to her death.
“When I met Mrs. Close, she was well into her 80s, but she has been incredibly active for the duration of her life,” Bowers said. “She remained very active in our board of managers, the Leroy Springs board of directors, so still incredibly passionate and involved in the decision making of the greenway.”
Winthrop University received support from the Springs Close Foundation to establish the Close Scholars program in 1998, which provides financial assistance and leadership opportunities to students who are willing to engage with their community.
The program requires students to volunteer for 122 hours per semester, attend scheduled events and maintain a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA. More information about the program can be found on the Winthrop Student Affairs website.
“Mrs. Anne Springs Close represented the kind of life I aspire to lead. A life of love, devotion, and service. Her life is an example of the values of service, excellence, diversity, community, and leadership that have been instilled in me here at Winthrop,” said Miguel Caldwell, junior elementary education major. “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. When you live such a powerful life, you never really depart; you just leave a piece of you in the people you touch. Her life will be missed, but her legacy will live on.”
The fortune of Anne Springs Close was primarily gained through her family’s cotton mill business, which later expanded to include a bank, railroad, newspaper and insurance company, according to a post by the Close Greenway. The company, which started as Springs Textile Mills and eventually became Springs Global, was sold to a Brazilian company in the early 2000s, according to Bowers.
