Catherine Booker Nixon

   Catherine Booker Nixon, 102, of Hertford, NC, died peacefully in her sleep at Brookdale of Elizabeth City on July 4, 2018.

   She was born in 1915 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was the daughter of the late Mary Hicks Booker and William Alfred Booker. She and her brother, the late Robert Alfred Booker, grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, where she attended Union University before graduating from the University of Tennessee/Knoxville (UT/K) in 1936. Her sorority was Chi Omega.

   She worked for 2 years at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Knoxville before marrying William Nixon, III, of Sunbury, North Carolina, in 1938; he was the Chief Materials Engineer at TVA before his retirement in 1972. Their children are William Nixon, IV (wife Cynthia) of Bloomfield, MI, and Cynthia Nixon Mastro (husband Joseph) of Elizabeth City, NC.  Grandchildren are William Stewart Nixon (wife Stephanie) of Carbondale, CO; Walton Nixon Creekmore of Seattle, WA; and Elizabeth Lee Nixon (husband Mike Kaminski) of Berkley, MI.  Eleanor Carter Nixon of Carbondale, CO, is a great-grandchild.

   Catherine’s activities in Knoxville included being a PTA officer, Brownie Scout/Girl Scout troop leader, adviser for Chi Omega’s Pi Chapter at UT/K for 10 years and Knoxville Chi Omega Alumnae Association Treasurer, President of the Episcopal Church Women and Chair of the Altar Guild at St. John’s Episcopal Church (now St. John’s Cathedral), and a teacher of homebound students in Knox County, Tennessee.

   Catherine and her husband moved to Hertford, North Carolina, in 1973 after having a home built on part of the Nixon family farm. She became active in many organizations: Chair of the Altar Guild at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Board Member of the Perquimans County Restoration Association, member of The Cotillion Club, and member of the Edenton Tea Party Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), in which she held many offices, including: National Defense Chair, Vice Regent, and Regent (1980-1984 and 1988-1990). She was also the NCSDAR Chair for Constitution Week, NCSDAR Librarian, and a member and officer of the DAR State Officers Club.

   Catherine was very proud of her Meriwether heritage: a direct descendant of the Revolutionary War officer, Lt. David Meriwether of Virginia, who was later presented an inscribed gold watch by his friend, Thomas Jefferson; direct descendant of Nicholas Meriwether I of Surry County and Jamestown, Virginia, who emigrated from England about 1650.

   She enjoyed playing bridge, hosting family and friends at a Southern Shores beach house, and attending Meriwether Society reunions.  Catherine was also an avid traveler with her husband (died in 1992), other family members, and friends and was fortunate to have traveled widely in the United States as well as in Canada and many countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Pacific.

   The family is grateful to the caring staff at Brookdale of Elizabeth City and Albemarle Home Health & Hospice, friends and family, and private-duty caregivers; they helped to make Catherine’s last years pleasant and comfortable.

   A graveside service will be conducted at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Hertford by The Rev. Robert Beauchamp on July 9, 2018, at 11:00 am, followed by a reception in the parish house. Miller and Van Essendelft Funeral Home, 1125 Harvey Point Road, Hertford is assisting the family.

   Memorial donations may be sent to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, PO Box 125, Hertford, NC 27944; Perquimans County Restoration Association, PO Box 103, Hertford, NC 27944; Chi Omega, 3395 Players Club Parkway, Memphis, TN 38125; the DAR-supported Crossnore School, PO Box 249, Crossnore, NC 28616; or a charity of one’s choice.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.