Note: The initial story had Parmer School misspelled.
Jane Dudley, founder and honorary chair of the Swan Ball — one of the South’s most prestigious white-tie charity events and a Cheekwood fundraiser — has died. Ceramic Corrugated Plate Packing
Dudley, a social icon in the Nashville community and beyond, died peacefully at her McCrory Lane home in West Nashville, her daughter Travenia Dudley Henderson said Tuesday.
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The daughter of William Joseph Anderson, former coach of the Vanderbilt University track team, and Nancy Joseph Anderson, Dudley was born Jan. 6, 1925 in Nashville. She was married to Guilford Dudley, Jr. for 52 years, until his death in 2002.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Dwayne Johnson; her daughter, Trevania Dudley Henderson (John); her grandson, Guilford Cole Henderson; her sister, Nancy Anderson Landstreet; a loving extended family and legions of friends.
She traveled the world as an ambassador’s wife and a member of the international jet set, her daughter said.
Dudley was a graduate of Parmer School, Ward Belmont and Vanderbilt University (1947), then worked briefly for The Tennessean. In a later career, she managed corporate accounts for Tiffany & Co. for more than two decades.
A member of the International Best Dressed list, she was a lover of all things glamorous and beautiful, from fine porcelain to her prize-winning roses to a breath-taking sunset, her family said. Above all, she loved people — and she loved a party. She put those passions to good use, not only entertaining frequently and memorably herself, but chairing more than 25 charity events around the world, through which she raised millions of dollars — and often changed the face of the fundraiser in the process.
Her daughter said she planned each ball meticulously, soliciting ideas and input from all— then making final decisions alone. She created fabulous environments, as she was clear that ambiance sets the stage for the party experience. She sought contributions—in-kind and monetary — that enabled her fundraisers to contribute record-breaking amounts to the charities they supported. Above all, she believed fervently that “what is in the seats is more important than what is on the plates,” leveraging her international connections — European royalty, film, fashion, and jewelry stars, business magnates and politicians — to build excitement and add glamour to her balls.
In the early 1950s Dudley chaired her first ball: the Bal d’Hiver. She persuaded the Belle Meade Country Club to provide the venue, arguing that most of the attendees were club members. It was the first charity ball held on its premises.
In 1963 she was the founding chairman of the Swan Ball, now the nation’s longest running charity ball. She chaired it again the following year, and served as Honorary Chair and Chairman of the International Committee thereafter.
The Swan Ball is the most exclusive and fabled party in Nashville, held each June among — and to benefit — the lush gardens of Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, considered this city's Biltmore.
The tickets — close to $1,000 a piece — are extended via a complicated committee structure comprised of 500 of Nashville's wealthiest social elite. Entertainers have included Diana Ross, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin and Sheryl Crow.
For five years in the 1970s, she chaired the ball to benefit the Palm Beach Cancer Society, with Bob Hope as the entertainment. Each of those years, the ball was the American Cancer Society’s largest revenue producing event nationwide.
Abroad, she chaired a ball at Blenheim Place, the historic home of the Duke of Marlborough, to raise funds for the palace’s seven-acre roof.
From 1981-1991 she chaired the Tiffany Feather Ball in New York, benefiting Just One Break. She arranged for Tiffany to sponsor the ball, allowing all proceeds to drop to the bottom line, which was transformative for the charity’s work for the disabled.
For three years she chaired a luncheon to benefit the World Wildlife Association; it was held at the Palm Beach Polo grounds with Prince Charles and Prince Bernard. She and her late husband also had a ball in their Palm Beach home to support World Wildlife.
Dudley served on the boards of Tiffany and Company, Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, the Palm Beach Cancer Society and was a visiting member of the board of the School of American Ballet during the tenure of George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein.
She was a member of the Garden Club of America and the Junior League of Nashville, and a past member of the Belle Meade Country Club, the Bath and Tennis Club, the Everglades Club, the Southampton Bathing Corporation, the Meadow Club and the River Club, among others.
The family will receive visitors on Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at home, and will celebrate Dudley’s life on Friday at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville followed by a burial service at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorial contributions be made to Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, 1200 Forest Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37205.
Ceramic Corrugated Tower Packing Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.