Margaret Merritt Earley

MARGARET MERRITT EARLEY Margaret Merritt Earley died peacefully on April 13. She was a North Carolina native raised in Burlington. Her father was raised in Wilmington, and Maggie is proud to have been one of the many schoolchildren who contributed nickels and dimes to bringing the USS NORTH CAROLINA to Wilmington. An artist, musician and writer since childhood, Maggie attended public schools in Burlington, touring Europe with her high school band (playing flute and piccolo) after graduation. She received a Bachelor's degree in psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Richmond. She interned at St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital in Washington, DC, and worked as an occupational therapist in schools for handicapped people and in prisons. Some people are born with silver spoons in their mouths: Maggie was born with crayons. In the second grade, her entry in the town art exhibit was disqualified because the judges declared that a second grader could not do so well. Throughout college, stage scenery, prom decorations, parade floats, costumes, newspaper cartoons, humor columns and murals kept Maggie constantly surrounded by delicious colors and creative opportunities. These projects showed her the satisfaction of leading groups of helpers to results better than they expected of themselves. Maggie founded and operated a craft supply store in Richmond, serving on the Board of Directors of the shopping center. The business doubled and redoubled, eventually occupying a 5,000 square-foot retail space and featuring a weekly live craft demonstration TV show, with Maggie as host. Maggie married her beloved Clifford Earley in 1983. The two bought a failing manufacturing company in Connecticut, turning it around financially and expanding it from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space, with state-of-the-art equipment and a growing labor force. While in Connecticut, Maggie was elected to the local school board and served as Chair for several years. Finally, tired of plowing and shoveling snow, they sold the business and moved to Wilmington. Over the years, Maggie participated actively in volunteer activities in Wilmington, notably the Good Shepherd Center, where her love of cooking quickly raised her to the role of chef. She served as a coach at the Cape Fear Literacy Council, worked aboard the USS NORTH CAROLINA, enjoyed neighborhood activities in Wilmington and Brunswick Forest, and played the flute with CFCC's Studio Symphony Orchestra. Maggie was a master creator of art quilts, which have been widely displayed, most recently in a one-woman show at the WHQR Gallery. She has recently published a novel, a semi-fictional memoir of her girlhood summers in the country, titled Waccamaw Wedding. After 30 happy and fulfilling years of marriage, Maggie lost her dear Cliff to cancer following nearly 10 years of illnesses and surgeries. Darkness fell, and Maggie became uncharacteristically isolated. But she eventually caught up with her old friend Pat Marriott, a fellow Good Shepherd chef from years before, and they became constant and joyful companions to the time of her death. Maggie is survived by Pat, her stepdaughter Elizabeth Earley Glassman, her stepson Stephen Earley, and a host of fellow artists.