Emma Garnett Hix Satterfield

In her own words, she was the “long-strived-for and precious child of Nelson and Dolly Hix” of “little ole Prospect, Virginia.” Her mother Dolly was one of eleven children, many of whom lived in the area. She was surrounded by aunts and uncles who doted on her, and she was just a tiny bit spoiled.

She loved her hometown of Prospect, Prospect United Methodist Church and the great State of Virginia. Though she lived most of her life in North Carolina, whenever she drove across the NC border into Virginia, she was known to say, “We’re in Virginia; time to get out and kiss the ground!”

She graduated from Farmville High School in 1959, where she was a guard on the women’s basketball team and a varsity cheerleader. An excellent student, she went on to attend the School of Nursing at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1963. It was there that she met her “precious Doc B,” Dr. Benton Sapp Satterfield, whom she at first thought was a “player” and refused to date.

Thankfully, Doc B was both handsome and persuasive (and not a player!). After their first date, Emma Garnett declared herself “smitten,” and Doc B became the rock of their 52 years of marriage.

Emma Garnett was the matriarch of the Satterfield family, and she ruled with an iron fist. Her house of five kids was naturally chaotic, but it was also so much fun in the early years that the youngest sons refused to go away to summer camp – they’d rather stay home and play! That’s likely because a lot of their play involved shooting BB guns and throwing things at cars and each other. Police officers were known to come to their door about shenanigans in the neighborhood. One such time they asked Emma Garnett if all her children were home, and when she said yes, the policeman said, “Well darn; there go all my suspects!” It turned out they had committed the mischief while Doc B and Emma Garnett thought they were home.

Doc B used to say that if he died young, he wanted to come back as one of Emma Garnett’s children. That was because in her early years she doted on them and was fiercely protective. She was a fabulous cook – and when complimented, she never failed to credit her mother, Dolly. She loved making birthdays special – giving stacks of carefully wrapped gifts and tirelessly cooking their favorite foods, and making each of their favorite cakes from scratch, some of the most time-intensive being Benton’s cream puffs and Bill’s cake with seafoam icing.

Teenagers were her favorite age and stage. As a long-standing member of Edenton Street United Methodist Church, she was a youth group leader for many years. She understood teens, and she knew how to have fun – so she, along with Doc B, were much loved by the church youth. She and Doc B were faithful members of the Jubilee Sunday School class, where Emma Garnett was known for often bringing the most, ahem, interesting gifts to the annual white elephant Christmas party.

She was a quintessential soccer and swim mom, hosting end-of-year banquets, carpooling, and traveling all over to her children’s events. She was also very vocal in the stands, yelling for one son so much, he stopped in the middle of the soccer field and yelled, “Mom! I’m doing the best I can!”

Emma Garnett was a “character” who loved to play practical jokes, including short-sheeting beds, sewing up the legs of friends’ jeans and making water balloons. She was often part of midnight raids on her friends’ and her children’s friends’ houses, rolling the trees in their front yards with toilet paper, with her children’s help!

Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday – and for as long as possible, she kept a 60+ family gathering alive in Prospect and then Amelia, Virginia, complete with fiercely competitive kickball games they dubbed “blood-and-guts kickball,” which often resulted in orthopedic visits. An avid reader, she also wrote the best and most entertaining thank you notes. We all appreciated her more-the-merrier attitude; she was a wonderful host.

Once all the children could drive, Emma Garnett started working as a nurse in Doc B’s office, where patients often confided in her if they didn’t like Doc B’s advice – because they mistakenly thought her last name was Garnett, not realizing she was his wife.

She loved her 13 grandchildren but did not want to be called grandmother – instead preferring to be known as “Garnett.” She was incredibly generous and proud of them. She attended football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, swimming, music and dance recitals – and was never happier than when she was surrounded by them all.

Emma Garnett never recovered from the loss of her beloved Doc B, and we are grateful that they are now reunited.

The family would like to thank all her caregivers at Swift Creek Medical Center in Cary, who truly went above and beyond. We recognize and appreciate Vivian Evans, Monique Keith, and particularly Charlotte Harris and Landon Booth, whose unconditional love despite challenging behavior meant the world to the family.

Emma Garnett is survived by her brother, Judge Tom Hix of Mill Spring, NC, and the amazing family she and Doc B built - her children and grandchildren – Benton, Jr. and his wife Beth of Cary, and their children Benton, III, Shaw, Carter and Walker; Dr. Robert (Bob) and his wife Jessica of Wilson, and their children Emma Townsend and Daniel; Carson Satterfield and David Askew of Raleigh, and their children Coley and Dylan; Dr. Bill and his wife Vera of Winston-Salem, and their children Emma Stuart, Harper and Harrison; Bart and his wife Judy of Greenville, NC, and their children Katie and Thomas; as well as their exchange student and "adopted daughter" Olga-Lucia Herrera from Colombia, South America, now living in Spokane, WA.

We’d also like to thank her nieces Dollie Hix Reid of Mill Spring, NC, and Emma Catherine Ali of Boones Mill, VA, who kept in touch with her without fail – sending cards, pictures and gifts over the last five years.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 3 p.m. at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be made to: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org), The Satterfield-Hix Scholarship, c/o First United Methodist Church, 100 Green St. NE, Wilson, NC 27893, or GiGi’s Playhouse of Raleigh (gigisplayhouse.org).

Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's St, Raleigh is serving the Satterfield family.