Sandra Windland Smith-Rice was the first child of
Frederick W. Smith, founder of
FedEx and Linda Smith Grisham McFarland. She had five sisters and three brothers, including
Arthur Smith, the former
head coach of the
Atlanta Falcons. FedEx's first plane in 1973 was named "Wendy" after her. She was born on 19 January 1970 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She graduated from
St. Mary's Episcopal School in
Memphis, Tennessee and studied drama at
Duke University. Rice became a nature photographer, completing commissions for organizations such as
Fujifilm, the
National Geographic Society, and
Nature's Best Photography magazine. Her work won several awards and has been exhibited in the
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Nature's Best Photography's annual Windland Smith Rice Awards are named after her. She served on the Nature's Best Photography board and was the master of ceremonies for Nature's Best Photography Awards events. Rice died suddenly in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 31, 2005, of
Long QT Syndrome Type 2 while visiting her mother. The
Mayo Clinic opened the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory to study this and similar diseases. Her family and friends established a memorial fund in her name under the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation. Rice's sister,
Molly Smith, dedicated the 2007 movie
P.S. I Love You in her memory. ==References==