Smith Bagley, 74, a very prominent member of the American Ireland Fund has died. He was heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune and married to Elizabeth Frawley Bagley who is very active in Irish American circles and was President Clinton's ambassador to Portugal.
The Washington Post reported that he died Jan. 2 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda of complications from a stroke he suffered Christmas Eve while vacationing in St. Simons Island.
He and his wife, Elizabeth Bagley were fixtures at Irish social events in Washington D.C. and both strongly supported the American Ireland Fund.
Elizabeth Bagley had previously worked for Senator Edward Kennedy and handled the Irish issue for him. The couple were particularly close to John Hume, former leader of the SDLP party in Northern Ireland and Nobel Peace Prize winner
"He was much more than a fundraiser," Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee told the Washington Post . "Smith had more ideas than anyone else in the party. He always had a positive attitude and was great on strategic advice." "He was so generous, always in good humor and full of positive energy."

Survivors include his wife of 26 years, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley of Washington; a son from his first marriage, Walker Bagley of Lexington, Ky.; three children from his second marriage, Nancy Reynolds Bagley and Nicole Ladmer Bagley, both of Washington, and Brett Dylan Bagley of New York; two children from his third marriage, Vaughan Elizabeth Bagley and Conor Reynolds Bagley, both of Washington; a sister, Susan Bagley Bloom of Vancouver, Canada; and five grandchildren.