Nancy Julian

Nancy Claire Julian passed away Sunday, January 1, 2023 at Salemtowne in Winston-Salem, NC. Nancy was born 11 June 1933 to the late Sidney H. Julian and Viena “Julie” Cauble Julian. A young brother, Dale Julian, died before Nancy was born. Nancy was born in the house on Gaston Street where she lived most of her life and cared for her parents in their later years. Her mother lived to the age of 109. The family had a “country home” in Bethania where they would go for weekends when she was young. She loved telling stories about going “to the country’, but the city eventually moved out to “the country”. She moved to Salemtowne in December 2018.

Nancy was proud of her native city and state, Winston Salem and North Carolina. She attended Ardmore School, RJ Reynolds High School, Lenoir Rhyne College, and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Nancy retired from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical School with 40 years of service in medical research.

Nancy was a life-long member of Augsburg Lutheran Church where her parents had been among the founding members. She fondly remembered going to Sunday Lunch at K&W downtown, on Coliseum, and Knollwood. She was an encyclopedia of Winston Salem past. Her dad’s tin shop was near Old Salem. Her mom was a buyer for major ladies’ stores and they had a mutual love of fine clothes. As a young ingenue, Nancy got to travel to NYC on some of the buying trips, touring and dressing up at night for clubs and shows.

Nancy loved nature and gardening. She enjoyed being outdoors and was a longtime member of the Carolina Mountain Hiking Club in Asheville. She hiked and camped all over the United States and Canada. She was an amateur botanist and photographed and catalogued many flowers and plants in the region. She loved and researched the Emily Allen Wildflower Garden. Her indexed collection of slides was donated to Reynolda Gardens. She loved birds, and often included feathers in some of her friendly correspondence. Nancy was an avid reader of all genres. She had a large library of books and prints of biology, science, history, religion, and fiction. She collected a wide variety of music, especially cultural and classical music. She traveled NC, the USA, Canada, and the world visiting museums, taking pictures, and collecting art and handicrafts. While she was able, Nancy wrote to friends she made around the world. She enjoyed a wide circle of lifelong friends. She was smart, charming, witty, and made friends easily.

She is grateful for some wonderful friends who have been like a family: Gayle, David, Bradley, and Katie Swayne, Tara Bohley and Paul Marince, Vonnie and Mick Pryor, and the staff at Salemtowne.

A service of remembrance will be held Sunday, January 8 at 2pm at Hayworth Miller Funeral home.