Annie Kitchin Josey Egleston

Ann Josey Egleston, 88, of Waynesboro passed away December 8, 2016 at her home on Oak Avenue. She was born on June 5, 1928 in Halifax County, NC. She was the daughter of Robert Carey Josey and Anna Kitchin Josey.

After finishing the 11 grades, then available in her hometown, she moved to Durham and lived with her aunt and uncle Pauline and Burrell Allen to attend 12th grade. After graduation she attended Meredith College in Raleigh. She spent the following year in Hickory, NC working in interior design. During that time she met her future husband, DuBose Egleston where he was practicing pediatrics. Following their marriage in 1951 they relocated to Durham where Dr. Egleston shifted his medical specialty to ophthalmology. They moved to NYC for his internship where their son, DuBose Egleston, Jr. was born in 1954.

During his residency in Durham, their second son, Robert Josey Egleston was born in 1955. The Eglestons moved to Waynesboro in 1959 to open Dr. Egleston's ophthalmology practice. There Ann became active in the community including Waynesboro Garden Club activities and downtown beautification - a project for which she was pictured in the News-Virginian putting up the first hanging flower baskets on Main Street. While retaining their Waynesboro home on Oak Avenue, they made their beloved farm in Rockbridge County, VA their primary home for 14 years following Dr. Egleston's retirement. From that base, they both logged thousands of miles behind the wheel of their 34-foot motor home. Given their many friends and family scattered across the country, the farm operated almost as a Bed & Breakfast. Dr. Egleston died in February of 2006 at age 94.

Ann was a lover of many things - her family both immediate and extended, college basketball and football (Wake Forest), tennis, Myrtle Beach, cooking, gardening and talking politics. She was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat whose grandfather had served in the US Congress from 1901-1923. She was immensely proud that her grandson, Larken served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this past summer.

A testament to her love of Wake Forest sports, she traveled several times a year to Winston-Salem to see the Deacons and she traveled to many bowl games, the last of these was at age 83. She loved to tell the story that she saw her first Wake Forest football game on the "old campus" at age five. She rode into the stadium on the shoulders of her older brother who was a freshman. Her last in-person football game was in the fall of 2015 at age 87.

Ann and her husband befriended and helped several Vietnamese families, most notably Chau Pham, who escaped communist rule in Saigon by boat in 1982. Ann started having Chau over for meals, sewed curtains for her apartment and helped teach her to drive. Although Chau moved to Missoula, MT six months later, they stayed in touch throughout the years. Chau became a successful business woman, raised a family and became a U.S. citizen. But through the years, she always thought of Ann as her second mother. Chau called often and thrilled Ann by coming back to Waynesboro for a visit in 2013.There are numerous known stories about Ann's generosity toward others ... and undoubtedly countless others known only to the recipients. She believed in education and supported many worthy students by providing assistance with their college tuition. Ann lived the maxim that "it is better to give than receive."

Ann was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and her two brothers, Robert Carey Josey, Jr. and Claude Kitchin Josey.

She is survived by sons DuBose Egleston, Jr. of Waynesboro, younger son Robert Josey Egleston and wife Amy Miller Egleston of Winston-Salem NC. Their children, Larken Miller Egleston (wife Lauren Wright Egleston) and Anna Louise Egleston, all live in Charlotte.

The family would like to thank the loving caregivers who made it possible for Ann to fulfill her wish of staying in her home during her last few months. Special thanks go to the unwavering devotion shown Ann by Sonya Eavey, Gloria Balser and Violet Marshall. They were considered family by Ann. And thanks to her many loyal friends who continued to visit and bring food since the April 2016 stroke that finally slowed this dynamo down.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Wednesday December 14, 2016 at McDow Funeral Home, 1701 W. Main Street, Waynesboro. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 15, 2016 at First Baptist Church, 301 S. Wayne Ave, Waynesboro. A reception will be held in the church fellowship hall immediately following the service. A private family burial will precede the memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Hospice of the Shenandoah, P.O. Box 215, Fishersville, VA 22939, Fellowship Fund at First Baptist Church, 301 S. Wayne Avenue, Waynesboro, VA 22980, the Wayne Theatre Alliance, P.O. Box 1821, Waynesboro, VA 22980, or the charity of your choice.