Celeste York Plassman

Celeste Y. Plassman, daughter of Dantes York and Virginia Jackson York, was born on January 22, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended elementary and junior high school in Falls Church, Virginia. After her family moved abroad, she attended Heidelberg High School where her love for the arts, music, and tennis were realized. Her family returned to McLean, Virginia, and she graduated from Langley High School in 1969.

Her academic life included literary and writing courses at Columbia University, a BA from North Carolina State University, and an MBA from Wake Forest University. It was at Wake Forest where Celeste met Bob Plassman. They were married in Alabama in 1976. They loved one another deeply and were each other’s whole world for the rest of their lives together.

Celeste was a Richardson Fellow and a Sigma Kappa. She interned with a poverty program, Model Cities, as well as the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex. That internship led to employment with the 1972 Democratic Presidential Convention staff in Miami, Florida.

She worked as the Director of Residence Life at Wake Forest University, Business Manager for the Arts and Science Museum in Winston Salem, NC., and the Director of Finance at Winston Salem’s Arbor Acres, where she helped to expand and build the Methodist retirement facility. Later, she created and managed a marketing and advertising firm. After leaving professional work due to health concerns, she devoted herself to volunteer work.

In 1996, she and Bob moved to Southport, N.C. There, she found her true calling as a volunteer Stephen Minister at Trinity United Church. Her focus in later life centered on her spiritual life and assisting individuals through life issues. She is survived by her brother James Dantes York.

A funeral service will be held on July 9 at 2 p.m. at Trinity UMC, 209 E. Nash St., Southport, NC.

Online condolences may be made at www.peacocknewnamwhite.com

Peacock - Newnam & White Funeral and Cremation Service, Southport, North Carolina.