Philanthropist Estelle Freedman Gould, one-time owner of the famously disputed Stonegate mansion in High Pines and benefactress to the University of Miami, died Friday -- her 95th birthday -- at her Coral Gables home.

Daughter Taffy Gould McCallum said her mother ``suffered from Alzheimer's for years,'' though she continued to enjoy ballroom dancing until three years ago.

She was the widow of pioneering South Florida developer Emil Gould, who died in 1992.

Her mother, ``the Pearl Mesta of Miami,'' was a milliner's dream, seldom seen without a elaborate hat. She hosted countless charity events, many on UM's behalf.

Especially fond of the university arts departments, Gould once donated 72 hats and many pair of platform shoes -- a favorite with the 5-foot-2 Gould, whose husband stood 6-foot-6 -- to the Jerry Herman Ring Theater at UM.

`LIVELY AND LOVELY'

Retired UM President Edward T. ``Tad'' Foote called Gould ``a lively and lovely lady who meant a great deal to our community. Her energy was boundless. She helped the University of Miami immeasurably.''

Chuck Cobb, former UM Board of Trustees chair and ambassador to Iceland under President George H.W. Bush, said he and his wife, Sue, ``have known Estelle and her late husband, Emil, for many years, starting when Emil and I first served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Miami together.''

``We're saddened by the loss of Estelle, who, after Emil's passing, continued to be so generous to the Frost School of Music and the Lowe Art Museum at UM. Estelle's devotion to the arts benefited the entire community.'' A New Haven, Conn., native, Gould and her husband, a New Yorker, settled in South Florida as newlyweds in 1937. They wove themselves into the community's social fabric through notable contributions of both time and money -- to the Greater Miami Philharmonic Society, the Museum of Science, Players State Theater, the Greater Miami Opera Association, Fairchild Tropical Garden, Friends of WLRN and other nonprofits.

A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Gould helped tend wounded World War II soldiers at the military hospital in what's now the Biltmore Hotel, her daughter said.

She led Boy and Girl Scout troops and the PTA at her childrens' schools.

While she drove a Rolls Royce -- on a cushion to see over the wheel -- ``she was a great bargain shopper,'' McCallum said. ``She taught me how to do unit pricing before it came out.''

ANTIQUES STORE

For three decades, Estelle Gould operated a Design District antiques store called the Gilded Peacock, which she closed after her husband's death.

In 1983, the Goulds bought the five-acre property in High Pines adjacent to their own property, giving them a 10.5-acre plot on Ponce de Leon Road in the 7400 and 7500 blocks.

The Gould home occupied half the land; Stonegate, a 1920s-era coral-rock and limestone mansion designated ``historic'' in 1981, occupied the other half.

An avid gardener, master flower arranger and flower-show judge, Gould had spent years landscaping Stonegate before buying it, in exchange for the handyman skills of its previous owner, Kentucky paint magnate Casper Hagner.

She designed Stonegate's Baroque concrete columns; he built them.

The Goulds planned to build a luxury subdivision on the combined site, preserving Stonegate and their own home.

But in 1993, after years of struggle with unhappy neighbors, zoning and historic-preservation boards, Estelle Gould sought and got a demolition permit. It was soon rescinded.

STONEGATE FIRE

By then, vandals, storms, termites and rodents had left Stonegate in shambles. And two years later, a fire nearly finished the old place off.

``I'd like to catch the dogs that did this,'' Estelle Gould told The Miami Herald.

In 1996, real estate agent Vivian Dimond bought the 10.5-acre site and everything on it for $3.7 million. Stonegate's exterior survived, and now encases a six-bedroom house that's once again on the market -- for $3.7 million.

In addition to her daughter Taffy, Gould is survived by daughter Lauren Gould of Southwest Ranches and son Dennis Gould of Rome, Ga.

Estelle Gould ``never went to funerals'' and didn't want one, Taffy said. Instead, Gould made one final gift to UM: her body.

``And any organs that anybody could use, she wanted people to have them,'' her daughter said.

The family suggests memorial donations to the charity of the giver's choosing.