By: Steve Gill
Natalie Nelms Leach Haslam was born Nov. 30, 1931, to Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Leach. Her father was a Knoxville ophthalmologist who for a time had his office in the historic downtown Park House – Knoxville’s second oldest structure. Many decades later, Haslam worked to buy and restore the building.
The Knoxville native graduated from the University of Tennessee and was a lifelong, ardent supporter of the University and its College of Arts and Sciences. After Natalie and Jim Haslam and the Haslam Family Foundation donated $32 million to UT, with $10 million designated to help finance a new home for the School of Music, the new building was named the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center. The $40 million facility, which opened in 2013, was described as the music program’s Neyland Stadium.
She had married Pilot Company founder Jim Haslam in 1976, and their blended family became a local political and philanthropic dynasty. She was the mother of former Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Haslam.
Honors presented to her during her life included University of Tennessee Volunteer of the Year in 1992, the national Amy Angell Collier Montague Medal from The Garden Club of America in 1995, the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award from The National Conference in 1996, Knoxvillian of the Year by East TN Community Design Center in 2017 and East Tennessean of the Year by the East Tennessee Historical Society in 2018.
Natalie and Jim Haslam were honored together as Knoxvillians of the Year by the Greater Knoxville Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Association in 1991.
“Natalie Haslam was a beautiful person ‒ beautiful in spirit, beautiful in appearance and beautiful in her thoughtfulness for others. She made friends everywhere and made lasting contributions in East Tennessee, especially to the University to Tennessee College of Music, the East Tennessee Historical Society and to Maryville College. She was a dear friend,” former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said in a statement.
Steve Gill is editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily.
