Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a wealthy arts and fashion patron, friend of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and political benefactor who funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to former presidential candidate John Edwards that was used to hide his mistress, died Monday. She was 103, the Associated Press reported.
Mellon's family and her longtime personal attorney said she died of natural causes at her beloved 4,000-acre Oak Spring Farms in Virginia's horse country, where she entertained royalty, stars and politicians but from which she rarely ventured.
Alexander Forger, her personal attorney for the past 40 years, and Mellon's grandson, Thomas Lloyd confirmed her death.
Dominated by the arts, fashion, horses, rare books and extraordinary gardens, Mellon lived a closely guarded life.
"She was involved in the business of nature and beauty, design and implementation," Forger said.
"After spending most of her life trying to avoid the spotlight, she was thrust into it when Edwards was indicted in 2011 for using what prosecutors alleged was campaign money, including $750,000 from Mellon, to hide mistress Rielle Hunter and their child during Edwards' 2008 Democratic presidential bid," the AP reported. "A jury later acquitted him on a campaign finance charge and deadlocked on five other felony counts. Mellon was not accused of breaking any laws."
Rather than the scandal that marked her last years, friends said Mellon should be remembered more for her contributions to the world of horticulture, art and fashion, according to the AP.
"She's a remarkable person," said her friend, interior designer Bryan Huffman of North Carolina. "The last standing true American aristocrat."
Rachel Lowe Lambert Lloyd Mellon's mother gave her the pet name, "Bunny," which stuck with her throughout her life, Huffman said.
She married Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr., a businessman and horse breeder in 1932. After their divorce, she married his friend Paul Mellon - at the time, reportedly, the world's richest man.
Paul Mellon, a renowned art collector, philanthropist and thoroughbred breeder, died in 1999 at age 91, the AP reported.
Huffman, who introduced Mellon to Edwards, said the former presidential candidate reminded her of John Kennedy.
"She liked what he said about the 'Two Americas,'" Huffman said. "She believed deeply in what he was saying."
According to the AP, Mellon believed a lady's name should only appear in the newspaper three times: for her debut, her marriage and her obituary, Huffman said.
