Emily Noble Day

Anyone who loved Emily Noble Day knew her as a big personality: a lively, warm, intelligent young woman with a flair for the dramatic, an actress at heart. Her brilliance and sense of humor brightened a room the instant she walked in. That enthusiasm was matched by Emily's sheer volume, whether she was simply speaking or singing show tunes or classical arias from memory with perfect intonation. When Emily was five her parents were thrilled to discover a children's book called Loud Emily, by Alexis O'Neill, because it so perfectly captured their daughter – a boisterous soul who finds her purpose in life.

Born in Sylva, North Carolina in 1993, Emily graduated from Staunton, Virginia's Stuart Hall School in 2011 with a theater emphasis that served her well in stage productions both at school and at Staunton's Shakespeare Theater. She received her BA in Art History from Susquehanna University in 2015 and a post-baccalaureate degree in art conservation from Florence, Italy's Studio Art Centers International in 2016. Along with her knowledge of the technical aspects of art she was a skilled artist herself, taking on numerous drawing commissions.

Her education and interests led her to perform as a costumed interpreter at Staunton's Frontier Culture Museum, where she worked until her death. She enjoyed her colleagues and her work immensely. She loved giving tours to school groups, as she loved children, and writing and directing plays for the museum's annual Lantern Tours in December. The museum also gave her the opportunity not only to share her talents in basketmaking, cooking, brewing and cheesemaking, gardening, and building conservation, but also to demonstrate her love of all animals in caring for and doting on the museum's livestock. Her kindness, loyalty, and fairness extended to all creatures great and small.

Emily ardently believed that all people deserve equal social, political, and economic rights and opportunities. She advocated for causes dear to her, always voted, and wasn't shy about sharing her views.

On September 8, 2022, Emily joined her late father, Douglas Day IV; her uncle, Gray Barbee; grandparents, Robert and Amoret Barbee; grandfather, Douglas Day III; and grandmother, Mary Hill Caperton (Bernard Caperton). She is survived by her mother, Sarah "Sally" Barbee Day (Russell Hart); her brother, Robert Day (Nadine Turner); her aunts and uncles, Amoret and Michael Powers, Emily and Chip Whitworth, Lucinda and Ian Day, Kathryn and Douglas Wright, Mason Caperton Hood, and Linda Barbee; her cousins Benjamin Barbee, Megan Barbee Dawson (Bill), Cara Barbee, Lily Fox-Bruguiere (Anthony), Kelly Powers, Turner Whitworth (Catherine), Hayden Whitworth (Danny), Janie Day Whitworth (Izzy), Jack Whitworth (Maggie), Philip Hood (Taylor) and Katy Hood (Josh); and her adored first cousins once removed, Maylea and Piper Dawson and Naomi and Claudia Fox-Bruguiere.

There will be a private memorial celebration for Emily in October, when her ashes will be interred next to her father's and grandmother's in Lexington, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the Frontier Culture Museum Foundation at https://www.frontierculturefoundation.org/.