Grace Jessup

Grace Smith Jessup died at home peacefully Saturday, December 16, 2006 in the presence of her loving husband of nearly 70 years, Roy Malcolm Jessup.



Born in Bladen County, North Carolina on May 19, 1915, she was the eldest child of Robert Dexter Smith and Rosa Sutton Smith and graduated from Elizabethtown High School.



Grace is remembered by her friends and family as a vivacious and hard-working lady. Grace began her career as a beautician in Lumberton, N.C. In 1934, she opened Grace's Beauty Shop in Elizabethtown above present day Elizabethtown Florist. The following year she moved the shop next door to the For Motor Company, where Wachovia Bank is located today. She continued to work as a beautician until 1963 when she sold the shop.



Grace met her husband, Roy, as a very young girl. Grace was riding her bike in front of her house and fell in front of a truck carrying then teenager Roy and his brother Percy. Roy yelled out for her to be careful since he was going to marry her one day.



On January 4, 1937, Roy made good on his promise to marry Grace. They were married at the home of R.H. Poole, the Presbyterian minister of Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church. Grace and her husband were very active in the church throughout her life.



Although Grace was an accomplished beautician, she is probably best remembered for the gift shop she established in 1963 in her husband's hardware store, Clark-Jessup Hardware. The shop drew customers from many different places and was a thriving business until it was sold in 1978 upon Grace's retirement.



Grace, along with her husband Roy, was involved in many community activities, but she also took time to enjoy life. Together, she and Roy were accomplished ballroom dancers, having won many trophies and awards in national competitions. She was also an avid antique collector throughout most of her life.



Grace was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers: "C.B.", Clayton Bernard Smith, Sr., and her baby brother, Robert Dexter Smith, Jr.



Survivors include two sisters, Dorothy Smith Collier of Whiteville, N.C., and Frances Smith Greene, of Elizabethtown, N.C.



Although Grace and her husband Roy had no children, they have been like a mother and father to nieces and nephews too numerous to mention.



Visitation will be at the Elizabethtown Presbyterian Activity Center Monday, December 18, 2006 between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. The funeral will follow at 2:00 in the church. Burial will be at Old Trinity Cemetery following the service.



In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church Parlor Fund and Lower Cape Fear Hospice.