By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

EAST WALNUT HILLS - Carol Ann Homan Haile used her talents and resources to advance the quality of life for many in Greater Cincinnati.

Her name - along with that of her husband, Ralph V. Haile Jr. - graces the lobby at U.S. Bank's main office at Fifth and Walnut streets, downtown, as well as a gallery at the Cincinnati Art Museum and an educational facility at the Seven Hills School.

All three benefited from their largesse.

Mrs. Haile died Sunday at her winter residence in Surfside, Fla. The East Walnut Hills resident was 80.

Mrs. Haile was "everyone's Auntie Mame," said her friend Stewart Shillito Maxwell Jr. of Hyde Park. "She wanted people to enjoy life to the fullest and her enthusiasm was contagious. One could not be in her presence for long without smiling or laughing because she combined great charm with a genuinely delightful sense of humor."

Born to Clifford and Viola Pebworth Homan of Fort Mitchell, she graduated from Miss Doherty's School - now the Seven Hills School - and received a degree in mathematics from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va.

Mrs. Haile's family owned People's-Liberty Bank and Trust Co. which she and her husband grew into one of the largest banks in Northern Kentucky before it was acquired by First National Bank of Cincinnati in 1988. First National later became U.S. Bank.

In 1969, Mrs. Haile co-founded the Cincinnati Art Museum Shop. It became a model for museum shops around the country.

As a member of the Junior League, Mrs. Haile founded a docent course program that teaches volunteers the history of the art on display in the museum. That course has made the staff of volunteers at the museum the envy of other museums.

The Hailes contributed to the Cincinnati Wing of the Art Museum, which opened in 2003. A gallery off the Great Hall bears their names.

Although Mrs. Haile had no children, she was committed to the betterment of children and made a major contribution to build Haile Hall - a state-of-the-art educational facility - on the Doherty campus of Seven Hills School in 1998.

She was involved in many other charities, including the United Fine Arts Fund, Friends of the Theater and the Mental Health Association.

Mrs. Haile is survived by her husband of 57 years.

Services have been held. Burial was at Spring Grove Cemetery.

Memorials: Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202;or the Seven Hills School, 5400 Red Bank Road, Cincinnati, OH 45227.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com