Emma Vivian Hope Robinson Northington

Emma Vivian Hope Robinson Northington, longtime resident of Springhill and former Mobile Press Register columnist, died peacefully on December 21, 2019. She was born in Tampa, FL in 1928 and lived her early life in Birmingham. As a young wife, she moved in 1959 to Mobile where she lived until her death. Hope came from a family of Episcopal and Methodist clergymen. Her grandfather, Richard Edmonds Bennett, was the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in the early twentieth century. Her mother, a Cornish immigrant, passed on a love of literature to her. Hope was a poet and essayist who left behind a large body of creative work. Her poetry won many honors from state literary societies; many of her poems were published in the Alabama State Poetry Society's Sampler. In 1995, she received the First Place Essay Award from the Alabama Writers Conclave. She earned a B.A. in English from Birmingham-Southern College and worked as a high school English teacher. In recent decades, she established a career as a newspaper writer. For nearly 15 years, her articles and columns graced the pages of the Press Register. Her columns were known throughout Mobile for their charming depictions of old Mobile's history and people, and she was also known for her travel writing about Europe and the Holy Land. Having grown up during World War II, she had a passionate interest in war veterans and interviewed many of them for her articles. Also, in the 1990s, her articles appeared in The Mobile Bay Monthly. Throughout her life, Hope was involved in many charities and literary groups. She worked as the southeast representative for the Bronte Society, and was on the Board of Directors of the Widowed Persons Service of Mobile, where she worked in grief support. She also taught Sunday school and volunteered with the Girl Scouts of America. She kept close ties with her British relatives, and was a member of the Cornish American Heritage Society and the Cornwall Family History Society. Hope was predeceased by her husband, I. J. Northington. She is survived by four children, Emmelin Golling, Pittsburgh, PA (Bruce W. Golling); Suzanne Northington, Mobile, AL; Adele Northington, Birmingham, AL (Boyd Mackey); and Jay Northington, Mobile, AL. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Michele Golling and Bruce J. Golling, both of Pittsburgh; and Kyle Northington, of Pensacola, FL. Services will be held in the St. Paul's Episcopal Little Church, 4051 Old Shell Road, Mobile, AL on December 27, 2019 at 1 PM. A reception will be held in the parish house. Burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham on December 30 at 10 AM. Donations may be made to a charity of your choice in her memory.