Audrey Overby Porter

Audrey was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, James Clark Rhodes; her second husband, Samuel H. Porter; brothers Thomas, Vernon, Devereaux and Richard Overby; and sisters Adelaide Padgett and Mary Frances Milar.

Audrey was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and active in the Wesleyan Class and United Methodist Women. Grace Church was one of her greatest blessings. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Beta Phi Chapter, past president of North Carolina Sorosis, and a member of New Hanover County Retired Teachers. Audrey earned her college degree in teaching from Wilmington College (UNC W) when she was forty years old, with two small children, and was proud to have taught second grade for twenty-five years, first at Lake Forest Elementary and then at Mary C. Williams Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina. A lifelong resident of Wilmington, Audrey had recently relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to be closer to family.

Survivors are her son, Dr. James Clark Rhodes and wife Cynthia of Jacksonville, Florida; her daughter, Pamela Kay Rhodes of Chapel Hill, NC; and three grandchildren, Kristen Basmajian of Chapel Hill, NC; Elizabeth Basmajian West and husband Zachary of Mebane, NC; and Daniel Basmajian of Atlanta, Georgia. She is also survived by a stepson, Samuel Cole Porter and his wife Jaca of Wilmington, NC, and a stepdaughter, Madeline Cheatham of Sneads Ferry, NC; two step-grandchildren, Michelle Martin and Amy Cheatham; and one step-great-grandchild Wade Rosado. Also surviving are brothers Harold Overby of Goldsboro, NC and his wife Betty Jean; and Donald Overby of Wilmington, NC; and seven nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Saturday, August 9 at 11 a.m at Grace United Methodist Church, followed by a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. with Reverend Scott Dodson and Reverend Patricia Cox DiGiuseppe officiating. Inurnment will be at Greenlawn Memorial Cemetery at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Audrey’s memory to Grace United Methodist Church Building Fund (401 Grace Street, Wilmington, NC 28401) or to the North Carolina Sorosis Scholarship Fund (20 South Cardinal Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403).