Nancy Morrell Wilkinson
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Nancy Morrell Wilkinson passed away peacefully on November 12 at her residence in Dallas, Texas.
Born in 1936 in Elmira, NY, she was the only child of Esther and Herbert Morrell. Her father was an officer of the Chemung Canal Trust Co., her mother a clerk of The Children's Court.
She attended Southside High School where she was captain of the cheerleading squad, President of the Latin Club, voted "Best All-Around" and graduated as class salutatorian.
Continuing her education, she was accepted at Wells College, an all-girls school in Aurora, NY known as one of the seven little sisters of the Ivy League. She was elected President of the Senior Class and received her BA Magna Cum Laude Phi Beta Kappa.
After graduation, she married Dwight Hillis Emanuelson and moved to Brooklyn Heights. In New York, she worked for the Equitable Life Assurance Company as the sole woman selected for a pilot program examining employee efficiency.
In 1959, the couple moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where their two children, Catherine and Dwight Jr. were born. They raised their family in Westchester County, NY and Savannah, GA. Their marriage ended in divorce after 13 years.
In Savannah, Nancy was an active member in the Junior League and served as Chairman of the Follies. She was a communicant of Christ Church Episcopal, served on the Historic Savannah Foundation and was employed as Chairman of Candler Hospital Associates.
In 1977, she married LT. Colonel James Wilkinson (USMC) retired and the family moved to Dallas where Nancy worked in the legal department of Aetna Insurance and as special legal assistant to James Coleman at the law firm of Carrington, Coleman, Sloman and Blumenthal.
Another corporate move for Merrill Lynch found the family in Memphis where Nancy was finally able to pursue her interior design passion. She apprenticed at Warner Moore Design before joining Lynda Shea at Shea Design and French Country Imports.
She and Lynda made several trips to France to purchase furniture and accessories. Nancy was inducted as an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Her work has been published in Veranda and Southern Living. She served as Junior Warden at Calvary Episcopal, a historic downtown church renown for its leadership on urban social justice ministry under Reverend Dr. Douglass Bailey.
After relocating to Charleston, SC, Nancy founded Low Country French Interiors. Her studio specialized in corporate relocation and completed projects in Seattle, Aspen, Columbia and Houston. When asked to describe her style, she called it "romantic minimalism".
Her retirement was spent with her beloved husband Jim in the Western North Carolina mountain village of Cashiers. Nancy and Jim were active members of the Church of the Good Shepard where she was known as the "flower lady". As the head of the flower guild for several years, Nancy was known for creating glorious arrangements at the altar for holy holidays and weddings.
Nancy will be remembered for her dry wit, self -deprecating humor and love of cats.
She is survived by Shadow, a black female rescue cat; her two children Catherine McCarthy (Chuck), Dwight Jr. (Claire); her stepdaughters Sabra Thompson and Shannon Wilkinson; 3 grandsons, Hillis Emanuelson (Lindsey), James Emanuelson (Tiffany), Charlie McCarthy;
great granddaughter Piper Louise Emanuelson and her goddaughter Caroline Richey.
Nancy will be laid to rest with her husband Jim at a private family burial at the Church of the Good Shepard in Cashiers, North Carolina.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Operation Kindness, 3201 Earhart Drive, Carrollton, Texas 75006, or the charity of your choice.