Marjorie Megivern

Marjorie Megivern, beloved mother, devoted wife, accomplished actress, journalist, and author, died Tuesday night as a result of a car accident in Cary, NC. The 86-year-old grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, the only child of a school teacher. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a major in chemistry. She worked as a chemist until she married a Navy pilot and physician, Dr. Emerson Smith, and moved to the small north Texas town of Wolfe City, where she raised a family of four boys and founded the Wolfe City Public Library. A divorce in 1972 ushered in a host of new beginnings--all of them in North Carolina. In Wilmington, she met her husband of 34 years, James Megivern, a professor of religion and philosophy at UNCW. For more than 25 years she and Jim lived in Wilmington. Marjorie worked as a reporter for the Wilmington Star-News and performed in and directed countless community theater productions, and launched a successful children’s theater group, Stageworks. Upon her husband’s retirement from UNCW in 2003, they moved to Brevard and the friendly retirement community of College Walk. Just this past year, Cary became their new home.

Wherever she lived, Marjorie, in her typically zestful, exuberant fashion, invested her community with the excitement of live theater, most notably an array of fascinating one-woman shows she wrote and performed all over the state, bringing to life characters ranging from Mother Theresa to Eleanor Roosevelt and Florence Nightingale. She also co-authored a book on churches in North Carolina and the history of the blind. Amid all this creative spark, Marjorie was forever giving to others. She read for the blind, served as an after-school tutor for at-risk kids, volunteered in soup kitchens, and in her final days was getting ready to participate in Cary’s Genesis United Methodist Church’s Stephen Ministry. As more than one person remarked about Marjorie, “she is a treasure.” She passed on to her children and grandchildren the powerful life lesson that she lived to the fullest: that every day is precious and rich with opportunities to love and learn.

Marjorie is survived by her husband Jim, her four sons, Steven, Dan, Stuart and Bruce, four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held 11:00a.m. Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Genesis United Methodist Church in Cary, NC. The family suggests contributions to the Genesis United Methodist Church Stephen Ministry: http://iris.nowsprouting.com/genesisunitedmethodistchurch/#/nurture-care

Condolences may be sent through: www.BrownWynneCary.com