LOS ANGELES -- Lillian Bounds Disney, widow of Walt Disney, died
in her sleep after suffering a stroke. She was 98.
She married Disney on July 13, 1925, in Lewiston, Idaho.
During a transcontinental train trip in the 1920s, when Walt
Disney told her about a cartoon character that he was about to name
Mortimer Mouse, his wife convinced him that Mortimer was "too
formal" and that he should consider changing it to Mickey.
Walt Disney died in 1966, during the planning stage for Walt
Disney World in Florida.
In 1987, Lillian Disney donated $50 million to the Music Center
of Los Angeles County for the construction of a future Walt Disney
Concert Hall. The fund has grown to $100 million, including $25
million from The Walt Disney Co., and the center is scheduled to
open in 2001.
Walt Disney Co. chairman Michael Eisner said that Lillian Disney
"was a full-time partner to Walt, and we are all grateful for her
contributions in the creation of Mickey Mouse and the Disney Co.,
and the example she set for family life and community service."
She is survived by a daughter, Diane Disney Miller of Napa,
Calif., 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.