FRANCEINE P. REES


GREENVILLE, NC— Franceine Perry Rees died Friday, April 2, 2010. A service of Holy Eucharist in thanksgiving for her life was held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, with interment following in the church columbarium. The family greeted friends following the ceremony in the church parish hall.

Franceine was born May 24, 1946, in Raleigh, NC, and grew up in Louisburg, NC. She was the elder daughter of James Edward Perry, Jr. and Geralda Turnage Perry. She majored in English at East Carolina University and began her career as a writer with the University News Bureau while she was a graduate student there. She remained with the News Bureau until her retirement in 2000. For many years, Franceine was Lady of the Manor at the popular Christmas Madrigal Dinner series of musical productions at ECU. Throughout her life, she loved classical music, art, history, antiques, and cats. She was an enormously talented writer and performed and published extensive genealogical research on her family. An avid reader since early childhood, she was a past president of the Friends of Joyner Library at East Carolina University. Franceine was an active participant in many historical organizations including the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Jamestown Society, the Society of 1812, the Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Virginia Genealogical Society. She was a former member of the Greenville Historic Preservation Commission and was very involved in her local community through the Tar River Neighborhood Association. A strong supporter of the Democratic Party, Franceine was a regular volunteer at the local polls on Election Day. She was a longtime member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and St. Lydia’s Guild.

Franceine was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, James Lester “Jim” Rees. Surviving to cherish her memory are her son, David Winborne Rees and girlfriend Ricwana Fahim Siddiqui of Greenville; her sister, Phyllis Perry Foster and husband Johnny of Wake Forest; her niece, Katherine Shearin Walton and husband Kevin and their son Benjamin Perry Walton of Garner; stepson, Carl Jamieson Rees and wife Melissa and their children, Cameron and Maggie of Greenville. Also surviving are cherished friends Dr. Lena Carawan and Dr. Ernest Marshall of Greenville and numerous beloved cousins, three aunts, and an uncle.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the classical music station WCPE-FM at P. O. Box 897, Wake Forest, NC 27588. Online donations may be made at TheClassicalStation.org.

Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com

Paid Obituary