Andrew Young remembers Anne Cox Chambers as a quiet but powerful force

ATLANTA — Whether Atlanta is your new home or if you're a native, the Atlanta you know was in many ways shaped by Anne Cox Chambers.

Chambers passed away Friday morning at the age of 100.

Chambers has been a leading force behind many of Atlanta’s most beloved institutions: The Atlanta Botanical Gardens, the Atlanta Humane Society and the High Museum of Art.

She also wielded great power quietly enabling Atlanta to grow peacefully.

Channel 2’s Justin Farmer sat down with another legendary Atlantan -- Andrew Young -- as he remembered his friend.

“She was so quiet and soft spoken that you missed the fact that she was one of the most powerful women in the United States,” Young said.

Young and Chambers both served as ambassadors in the Carter administration. Chambers was stationed in Belgium.

Born in Ohio, her father James M. Cox was a three-term governor of Ohio and ran for president in 1920.

Among her talents, Chambers grew to know the media business her family built, a business that included WSB-TV.

Young said Chambers was as philanthropic as she was powerful, helping to bring the High Museum, the botanical gardens and the Atlanta Humane Society to life.

“Anything she wanted to achieve,” Young said. “She was always looking for ways to make the world a better place.”

In addition to her giving, other accomplishments include serving on the boards of Coca-Cola and Cox Enterprises.

Like Young, Chambers lived a big, bold life serving the city of Atlanta and this country with aspirational grace.

“If she was concerned about something, she’d usually have people over to her house and she did little of the talking, but create sensitive, loving environment and allow people to come to a conclusion that was most often the right one,” Young said. “She lived a wonderful hundred years.”

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