Margaret Smith Beecher, 86, founder of the Utah Symphony Guild and well-known supporter of the arts, died Dec. 19, 1993, at her Salt Lake home of complications from a stroke she suffered more than a year ago.
She organized the guild in 1953, serving initially as vice president and later as president. She was a member of the Utah Symphony Board from 1961 to 1978 and a member of the orchestra's executive committee from 1961 to 1966.An accomplished musician, Mrs. Beecher studied music at the University of Utah, Northwestern University, Banff (Canada) School of Music and the McCune School of Music in Salt Lake City.
Mrs. Beecher was chairman of the board of the Utah Institute of Fine Arts, now known as the Utah Arts Council, and the council's literary arts chairman for 12 years. She was particularly supportive of a council program, "Poetry in the Schools."
She was a member of the Utah Poetry Society, the National Poetry Society, Utah League of Writers, Ballet West Guild, Salt Lake Art Center Guild, Pioneer Memorial Theatre Guild, National Orchestra League, Pioneer Craft House and Women's Architectural League. In the late 1950s she was chairman of a successful women's fund-raising campaign for the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Funeral will be held at noon Thursday in the Parleys 1st Ward chapel, 2350 S. 2100 East. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, and one hour before services Thursday at the church. Burial will be in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.