NEWPORT NEWS — Nellie Huggins Emory, beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, amazing neighbor, friend, and member of the “Greatest Generation,” passed away Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. She was born in Newport News in 1927 to Furney E. “Bob” and Norah Riley Huggins and moved with her parents to Washington, D.C., in 1928.
In 1940, after her father’s death, she and her mother moved to Hilton Village to be with her beloved grandmother, Nellie Riley.
She graduated from Morrison High School in 1944. In 1950, she married her high school love, M. Lawrence Emory. In 1965, they moved from Hilton to a Maxwell Gardens house that he designed. They were married for 56 years until his death in 2006.
Nellie enjoyed her many years’ associations with her employer, First National Bank of Newport News, and its iterations. She was active in First Presbyterian Church of Newport News until it closed; she then joined Hidenwood Presbyterian Church and served on many committees there as well. Nellie was a member of the Woman’s Club of Hilton Village and the James River Country Club Woman’s Golf Association. She loved playing golf and bridge with her many friends and continued playing both into her 90s.
She is survived by her beloved daughter, Lezlee Emory-Cherrix; twin grandchildren, Mason and Riley Cherrix, all of Vienna; and nephews, Laurence Munnikhuysen III (Karen) of Williamsburg and Howard Munnikhuysen (Nancy) of Virginia Beach.
A funeral service will be held at 1:45 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 29, at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church. Face masks and social distancing will be required. Burial will follow in Peninsula Memorial Park.
Contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be made in Nellie’s name to Hidenwood Presbyterian Church, Newport News.
Share online condolences with the family at Peninsula Funeral Home.
