Marlene Beavers Williamson

Kitty Hawk, NC – Marlene Beavers Williamson of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 4, 2013.

Mrs. Williamson was born in 1931 and raised by her grandparents in Danville, Virginia, a vibrant town southwest of Richmond near the North Carolina border well-known at the time for its tobacco and textile industry. Considered a “most artistic” student, she graduated from John M. Langston High School and entered Bennett College for Women (formerly Bennett College), from which she graduated in 1958.

While at Bennett, Mrs. Williamson excelled in home economics and fashion design and by 1960 was working in New York City as a model maker and seamstress for the Advance Pattern Co. and Talon Zipper Company. She later taught junior high school in the public schools of Manhattan, Washington, DC and suburban Maryland. She retired in 1996 after working as a fourth grade teacher at St. Jerome Catholic School in Hyattsville, Maryland.

She met the love of her life, Thomas Williamson in New York City was married July 3, 1964. After their wedding, they moved to the Washington, DC area, where they later raised their two daughters. After she retired, they had the opportunity to travel extensively during his career with the Federal Aviation Administration. The places they visited together included Montreal, Singapore, London, Frankfort, Rome, and several cities in the U.S. In 1997, they stayed on assignment in Paris for the year, where she took classes at the American Embassy and attended the American Church in Paris. In 2000, they moved together to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, having frequently vacationed there as a family since the early 1970s.

During her life, she participated in many civic and charitable activities. She was a member of the Outer Banks Presbyterian Church, where she played in the Hand Bell Choir. Her other hobbies were crafts, sewing, knitting, cooking and playing music. She was also amazingly good at solving Sudoku puzzles.

Mrs. Williamson was also a member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO). Her other volunteer and civic activities included serving on the Family Selection Committee for Dare County Habitat for Humanity.

Marlene B. Williamson is survived by her husband of 48 years, Thomas Williamson and their two daughters, Keri L. Williamson of Kill Devil Hills, NC and Leah R. Williamson of Washington, DC; one sister-in-law, Evelyn Williamson of East Lansing, Michigan; and a host of cousins, nephews, other relatives, neighbors and many loving friends.

In lieu of flowers please make memorial donations to to a charity of your choice in Marlene Williamson’s name. Plans for a memorial service are pending at this time. Friends and visitors are welcome at the Williamson residence on Friday, June 7 between the hours of 3 pm and 7 pm.

Gallop Funeral Services, Inc. was entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the family via the online registry at www.gallopfuneralservice.com.