Julia Ingersoll Wall

Julia Ingersoll Wall died peacefully at home on November 20, 2019. Julie, age 83, was born in Washington, Mo., on April 29, 1936, to Floyd (Papa) and Marian (Mimi) Ingersoll. The family moved several times during Julie’s childhood, including to Minneapolis, Minn., before settling in Champaign, Ill. During Julie’s high school, the family moved to Cairo, Egypt, until the venture was curtailed due to illness suffered by Julie’s sister, Genie. Julie graduated from Champaign High School before matriculating at the University of Illinois. She graduated in three years with a major in political science. At Illinois, she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority where she served as rush chairman, and was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Shi-Ai, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. She received the University Scholarship Key and was the recipient of the Chi Omega Social Science Award. She also appeared in several musicals such as Oklahoma and South Pacific, sparking a lifelong love of singing and music.

While visiting relatives in St. Joseph, Mo., she was noticed at the country club pool by a young golfer making the turn. Years later, she and Thomas Robert Wall III were married on September 7, 1957, a few months after Julie’s college graduation. She quickly entered motherhood with the arrivals of Thomas Robert (IV), Joshua Ingersoll, Christopher, Jonathan, and Cinda Irene. Julie provided a loving household and insisted on family meals with meaningful and challenging discussions. All five children attended St. Joseph Co-Cathedral School and went on to graduate from Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn. Julie was active in the children’s educations, from leading Great Books discussions to attaining “honorary Dean” status at Choate. Cheerful, optimistic, and supportive – if sometimes gullible – Julie was a strong advocate and supporter of her children, whom she loved dearly.

A lifelong devout Roman Catholic, Julie served in various capacities with the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and, later, with St. Bede’s Church in Williamsburg, more recently providing design and decoration guidance during the construction of a new church building.

In the 1970s, Julie took an interest in interior decorating, culminating in the redesign of an interior space at Townsend & Wall department store into The Loft, an area designed with barn wood and soft lighting to appeal to younger shoppers. Her sense of style, marked by symmetry and a distinctive color palette, was especially discernable in her decorating.

In the late 1970s, the family moved to Bermuda, where she and Tom lived for 17 years. Julie spent much time at Natural Arches beach and playing tennis and bridge. In the 1980s, she pursued her interest in world affairs by completing a two-year Master’s program at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, having earlier deferred her acceptance at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy after college. She was a world traveler, spending much time in Europe on well-researched trips, and in particular enjoyed annual sojourns to Aix-en-Provence, France. In the late 1990s, she and Tom moved to Williamsburg, Va., where they designed and built her current residence, Baytree House.

Julie was predeceased by her parents. Left to cherish her memory are her children Tom (Nancy), New York, N.Y.; Josh (Duby McDowell), Cambridge, Mass.; Chris, Providence, R.I.; Jon (Ashley), Greensboro, N.C.; and Cinda Ball (Curt), New Hope, Pa., as well as her ex-husband Tom, Sarasota, Fla.; eleven grandchildren (Kelsey, T.R., Natalie, Catherine, Charlie, Caroline, Aubrey, Avery, Sophie, Amalie, and Lily); her two sisters Genie Vuagniaux (Earl), Edwardsville, Ill., and Carroll Cranch, Chesterfield, Mo., and numerous nieces and nephews.

The Wall family would like to extend special thanks to Justina and Matthew Keller, who provided loving care to Mia for several years. A funeral will be held on December 7 at 11:00am at St. Bede’s Catholic Church in Williamsburg. In lieu of flowers, honorary donations may be made to St. Bede’s Catholic Church, Williamsburg, Va., or a charity of the donor’s choice.