MARGARET SMATHERS AUSTIN

MARGARET SMATHERS AUSTIN

Margaret Smathers Austin, 100, beloved mother and grandmother, died November 10, 2012, in Wilmington, NC. She was born on August 30, 1912, in Summerville, SC, the daughter of Henry Augustus Smathers and Minnie Lee Brooks Smathers. She was preceded in death by her cherished husband Kermit Elmo Austin.

She spent her childhood in Charleston, SC, and was a proud alumnus of Ashley Hall. Later she attended Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC. She and Kermit were devoted members of the First United Methodist Church of Clinton, NC, and after the loss of her husband she was a member of St. Andrews On-the-Sound Episcopal Church and later St. James Episcopal Church in Wilmington, NC, serving on the altar guilds.

As a widow she lived for decades on Wrightsville Beach as a year-round resident, and loved the adventurous life of the beach. She was an avid reader and gardener, and was a lifelong member of local gardening, book, and bridge clubs in Wilmington, NC, as well as a longstanding member of the Cape Fear Country Club.

She was a bookkeeper at GOGAS, the family business, from the late seventies until 2008, driving herself to work each day well into her nineties.

She will be remembered for her unconditional love towards her family, her strength in times of adversity, and her service to family, friends, and the churches and organizations to which she belonged.

She is survived by her two children, Kermit Elmo Austin, Jr. and his wife, Deborah, Wilmington, NC; Gail Smathers Austin, Santa Rosa, CA; her three grandchildren Tyler Brooks Austin, New Orleans, LA; Kermit Elmo Austin III and wife Lindsay, Wilmington, NC; and James Phillip Dorroll and wife Olivia, Wilmington, NC.; and one great grandchild Dylan Limaneck, Sonoma, CA.

A memorial service will be held at Global River Church, 4702 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, on Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 3 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to, House of Mercy, GRC, 4702 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28412.

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