WILLIAMSBURG — Wanda Dzula Adsit died in her home on Friday, August 13. A funeral service with Holy Eucharist will be held at Hickory Neck Episcopal Church on Thursday, August 19, at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Disabled American Veterans (https://www.dav.org/ways-to-give).
She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Wanda, her sister, Carole, and her brother Walter (whom she called Bill). She leaves behind her husband, Spencer, daughters Heather (Todd) and Kristin, grandson Isaac, granddaughters Montana, Rylie, Piper, and Laine, and great-granddaughter, Hazel May. In addition, she leaves her brothers Bobby (Faye) and Larry (Janie), as well as several nieces and nephews, whom she loved dearly.
Wanda was born at home in the family farmhouse in Barhamsville. She was the first of five children to be born into the home. Her first playmates were her brother Bill and their younger brother Bobby. Years later, when Carole and Larry were born, she helped to raise them and loved them with a fierce tenderness as though they were her own babies.
She was a teller of stories. The majority of these came from a childhood spent growing up on a farm as the eldest of five children. Nearly every story involved one or more of her siblings. She never got into trouble alone – she always took someone else down with her. The original idea, however, usually came from her. Those stories were, and will always be, a source of joy to her children.
After high school, where she’d won the honor of May Queen, Wanda attended Smithdeal Massey Business College in Richmond, and went to work after completion. She came home most weekends at her mother’s insistence. She was an excellent employee, and when one of her ex-bosses opened Williamsburg National Bank, he convinced her to be their Executive Secretary.
Wanda met Spencer in 1966 when Spencer came to her parents’ house to see her brother Bobby. They began a relationship in 1967 and were married in 1968. They returned to Blacksburg where Spencer was studying at Virginia Tech in 1970. Wanda worked in the public relations office at the university to help pay for Spencer’s education, and she proudly referred to herself as a “PHT” (Put Hubby Through). Spencer graduated in 1973, at which point they moved back to Williamsburg where she went to work for William & Mary.
When their daughter Heather was born in 1976, Wanda opted to stay home to raise the baby. Two years later, they welcomed their daughter Kristin to the family.
As the girls grew older, Wanda was able to pursue other passions in addition to child-rearing. She took up basket-weaving and made and sold many of them over the years. The North Carolina Basketmakers’ Association Convention was something she looked forward to every year. She cross stitched and sewed dolls and could make something as simple as a metal cheese grater look cute. In the early 2000s, she had a small shop on Jamestown Road in Williamsburg, which she called The Bees Keep. The shop was quite successful, but eventually became too much for her to maintain. She opened booths in a few local places and has kept her spot at Through the Garden Gate for many years now. Her mind was so creative – she saw ideas for crafts and repurposed primitives everywhere she looked.
Wanda was a humble person, but she never missed an opportunity to tell someone how proud she was of her daughters and their children. She was a friend to everyone and had a warmth that drew people to her. She will be deeply missed by those who loved her.
We thank God for letting us love and be loved by Wanda.