Madeleine Moss

When she was a girl, Madeleine Smith Moss and her mother would don their Sunday best and white gloves for their annual shopping trip to Richmond. A certain element of that sense of decorum and formality would stay with her for the rest of her life. She also wanted to be useful and to matter. She was and she did. Madeleine, Mom, Nana, died peacefully Nov. 20, 2023, in Williamsburg at the age of 87. Daughter of the late John and Jane Smith, she was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, and educated at public schools in Warwick County, Virginia. She had fond memories of living in and roaming the Hilton Village area as a girl, and spoke of it often. The bond was strong enough that she would get together with friends from Hilton Elementary School every month as long as she was able. At 8 or 9 years old, she had to learn for herself how to take the public bus to downtown Newport News to get to her dance lessons. One of the stops between was a gate to what is now known as Newport News Shipbuilding, where her father worked as an engineer. Subsequently, she would be sharing part of the ride with rough and tumble shipyard workers. That experience helped give her the independence to navigate the world on her own when she had to. During her school years, she also learned how to play the flute, honing her skills in the marching band. It was another of her passions in life, and as long as she could play, she kept an eye out for people to teach or others to play with. She graduated from Warwick High School in 1954. Against her father's wishes and thanks to a small grant from a local women's business group - which she received for winning an essay contest - she attended Mary Washington College, graduating in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary childhood education. In the mid-1950s, she was employed as a dancer by the Jamestown Corporation in the Paul Green "symphonic drama" - The Common Glory - in Williamsburg. It was there she met a young actor named William "Bill" Moss, who was soon to become her husband and then an officer in the U.S. Navy. They married in 1957 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and embarked on creating a family while traversing the country, living in Rhode Island, California, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts and Alexandria, Virginia, before returning to Williamsburg. Among the moves they had four children: Richard (Patricia) Moss, Elizabeth (Douglas) Beal, Alexander (Katie) Moss, and Susan (Shaheem) Abrahams. After having four children, she was still dancing and helping run Georgia Cushman's modern dance troupe, which operated out of St. John's College in Annapolis. She later followed her interest in education to a career as a special education associate in the Massachusetts and Virginia public schools. She spent many hours discussing various education topics with the other teachers in the family. Madeleine dedicated much of her classroom earnings to postsecondary opportunities for her children. She taught her children to embrace and enjoy art of all kinds. She also taught her children to love and respect all human beings, regardless of race, creed or politics. She was a member of Daughters of the King, and was especially devoted to her Episcopal faith. In her later years, she came to love Williamsburg all over again. She enjoyed educating visitors on local history as a volunteer at the Tucker House in Williamsburg and as a guide at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News. In a letter to the editor of the Daily Press published July 17, 2001, regarding a controversy over a parcel in Merchant's Square, she wrote that the community would do well to remember the words from Green's Common Glory that "This is indeed sacred soil whereon we are gathered..." She also enjoyed visiting Yorktown, where she had a number of friends, and walk along the boardwalk. In addition to her parents, Madeleine was predeceased by her former husband; a sister, Nanette Smith; and a great uncle, the artist Charles William Smith. In addition to her children, Madeleine is survived by her brother, Kingston (Julianna) Smith, nephew Andrew Smith and niece Christina Smith. She is also survived by her grandchildren, on whom she doted: Christina (Nate) Parkinson, Nathan Beal; Andrew (Leah) Moss, Alexa (Stephen) Calkin, Sara (Karan Bains) and Hannah Abrahams; and by four great-grandchildren: Emmett and Alistair Calkin, Eleanor Parkinson, and Lauren Moss. And she is survived by a number of friends, including former brother-in-law Richard (Carolyne) Moss and former sister-in-law Anne Moss. A service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at Bruton Parish Church, 201 Duke of Gloucester St., Williamsburg. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Daughters of the King, daughtersoftheking@brutonparish.org, or the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, www.yourcpf.org.