Elinor Weathersby McCorkle

1926 - 2019

Elinor Weathersby McCorkle

Raleigh, NC - Elinor Weathersby McCorkle, 92, passed away peacefully on November 23, 2019 at Springmoor Retirement Community in Raleigh, NC.

Elinor was born in Memphis, TN on December 26, 1926 to Irma Pritchard and Frank McLean Weathersby. Together Elinor and her younger brother Frank navigated the early death of their mother, creating a steadfast bond throughout their lives. Elinor graduated from The Hutchison School in 1944, and Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA in 1948.

In 1952, Elinor married Pope McCorkle Jr. at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, where Elinor had been baptized. Elinor found joy and purpose in the home she and Pope created for their two children, Ruth and Mac. She loved her busy life filled with carpools, homework, slumber parties, tennis tournaments, volunteer work, church, and family gatherings.

Elinor's strength of character and natural leadership ability were evident throughout her life. At Mary Baldwin College, Elinor was President of the Student Body and received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for "excellence of character and service to humanity." She took on numerous volunteer assignments including President of the Memphis Junior League.

After her children were grown, Elinor joined her husband and brother-in-law, Bill McCorkle, at the family business Memphis Net and Twine. She brought a personal touch to the eagerly anticipated holiday parties she organized for employees.

A year after the death of her husband Pope in 2002, Elinor moved to Springmoor in Raleigh NC to live near her children and their families. As hard as it was to leave her much-loved family and friends in Memphis, she resolved to make a new home and found wonderful friends at Springmoor and elsewhere in Raleigh and Durham.

Elinor embraced the opportunity to become an everyday "Mimi" to her four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The family looked forward to the pizza party she hosted every year at Christmas.

Idlewild Presbyterian Church anchored Elinor's life from birth. She served as a deacon and elder, taught Sunday School for 30 years, and was President and a Life Member of the Women of the Church. In NC, she found church homes at both White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh and First Presbyterian Church in Durham.

Elinor had great appreciation for the incredible caregivers who helped her during her last years, especially Cheryl Thibault.

Elinor is survived by her children: Ruth Brooks (Bill) of Raleigh, NC, and Pope "Mac" McCorkle III (Wendy) of Durham, NC; four grandchildren: Margaret Brooks Duke (Lawrence), Emily Brooks Rowe (Patrick), Pope McCorkle IV (Allison) and Lewis J. McCorkle (Virginia); and four great grandchildren: Eleanor Duke, Lucy McCorkle, Penelope Rowe and Eli Duke.

A memorial service was held at Springmoor in Raleigh, NC. A service at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis will be held at 11 am on March 14, 2020.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Church Health Center, 1350 Concourse Ave, Ste 142, Memphis, TN 38104; Idlewild Presbyterian Church, 1750 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104; First Presbyterian Church, 305 East Main Street, Durham, NC 27701; White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1704 Oberlin Road, Raleigh, NC 27608; or Springmoor Endowment Fund, 1500 Sawmill Road, Raleigh NC 27615.

Arrangements with Mitchell Funeral Home in Raleigh, NC - www.MitchellatRMP.com