Steve Bedard, former CFO of the city of Charleston and former director of the Gaillard Center, recalled how Ingram and Redden went to see Riley with a pitch the mayor wasn’t prepared for. She would raise $70 million — nearly half of what the project ultimately would cost.

“At that moment the Gaillard wasn’t on (Riley’s) play sheet, but it quickly became so,” Bedard said.

The project, which followed on the heals of the renovations of the Dock Street Theatre and Memminger Auditorium (now called Festival Hall), was Ingram’s gift to her hometown, Bedard said.

Martha Rivers Ingram was born Aug. 20, 1935, in Charleston, attended Ashley Hall and then Vassar College, where she studied history. After graduation, she was a deejay for a classical music program broadcast by WCSC, a station owned by her father. On the air, she used the name Elizabeth Crawford.

She married Bronson Ingram in 1958 and moved to Nashville a few years later. In 1995, following Bronson’s death, she took over as chairwoman of Ingram Industries. She also served on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards, becoming a trustee of Vanderbilt University, Vassar College, Ashley Hall and The Harpeth Hall School.

She helped establish the Tennessee Repertory Theater and served on the boards of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, Nashville Symphony, Frist Center for the Visual Arts and, of course, Spoleto Festival USA.

Renee Anderson, former chairwoman of the Gaillard Center, said her friend “was very focused in her objectives, and she always saw the art of the possible” — meaning, she never gave up, she always found a way through obstacles and challenges.

“If you can’t get there this way, you might get there that way,” Anderson said, characterizing Ingram as a creative and determined problem-solver.

The two friends attended and enjoyed many Spoleto Festival performances earlier this year, and also joined the audience for Charleston Symphony Orchestra concerts.