Eleanor Flowers Upton

Eleanor Flowers Upton was united with her Lord and Savior and reunited with her beloved husband in heaven on Sunday, June 11, 2017, following an unexpected illness. Eleanor was born to the late Hardie Allen Flowers and Lois Thorne Flowers on February 21, 1935 in Wake County. She resided in Red Oak and later Rocky Mount, where she met and married the late Robert McLean Upton, the love of her life, on May 21, 1955. Bob and Eleanor soon moved to Winston-Salem, where their daughter Barbara was born in 1958.

Eleanor spent most of her career in the hospitality and association management industry, forming Upton Associates, a meeting and association management firm, in 1976. Eleanor worked with Bob, Barbara, and later son-in-law Carlton Geiger, until she and Bob retired in 2012. Eleanor was a faithful long-time member of her beloved Christ Episcopal Church in Raleigh.

Eleanor is survived by her daughter, Barbara Upton Geiger, and son-in-law, Carlton, whom she loved as if he were her own, and their children Robert and Margaret; son, Mark Nelson, daughter-in-law, Angie, and their children Ryan and Stephen. Eleanor also leaves behind four loving siblings, Janie Williams (Jay), Barbara Taylor, Fred Flowers (Joan) and Steve Flowers (Kathy), and many other dear family members and a multitude of special friends.

There are not sufficient words to describe Eleanor’s loving, caring, and giving spirit. Those whose lives she touched are better for having known her. She loved without abandon and that love was so graciously returned.

A service of Holy Eucharist will be held at Christ Episcopal Church on Thursday, June 15, 2017. A private interment of the ashes will be attended by the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 25759, Raleigh, NC 27611-5778 or the charity of one’s choice.