Margaret Eisner; Philanthropist, Mother of Disney Executive

Margaret Dammann Eisner, 79, Palm Springs philanthropist and major influence on her son, Disney chief Michael D. Eisner. A native of Manhattan, N.Y., she was the daughter of a co-founder of the American Safety Razor Co. and served as an aggressive and competitive role model for her son and her daughter, Margot Eisner Freedman. The matriarch maintained homes in Manhattan, Saxtons River, Vt., and in Rancho Mirage, where she was a volunteer tutor and organizer in reading programs at two Cathedral City schools. Sunny Sands Elementary School named its Margaret Eisner Literary Center in her honor. “Maggie” Eisner was also a former president of the Irvington House Institute and active in the Mt. Sinai Women’s Auxiliary Board in New York City. A childhood friend of Michael Eisner once told The Times: “Everybody always used to say Maggie could run General Motors.” On Wednesday in New York City.