Eugenia Summer

Eugenia Summer

Emily Eugenia Summer, age 92, died April 23, 2016, at Trinity Personal Care. She was born to Charles Edgar Summer and Emily O’Rorke Summer in Newton , Mississippi , June 13, 1923, along with her twin brother, Charles Edgar Summer, Jr. She fondly remembered her childhood spent exploring the beauty of the outdoors with her brother and friends, drawing and painting, admiring her schoolteachers, tagging along with her mother as she campaigned for politicians, and making clothes for and dressing up her pet parakeet, Ikey Democrat. In those early years were the beginnings of her life's greatest passions.

Her family moved to Yazoo City , Mississippi , during the Great Depression, and she attended Yazoo City High School . Her father worked at a local bank, and her mother taught art lessons in their home. During the summer, she worked coordinating train car arrivals and departures for lumber deliveries. Her explorations of the local landscape grew wider and wider with school friends, and they sometimes caught the train to travel through the Delta for the day, unbeknownst to their parents she recalled with a mischievous smile.

In 1941, she arrived as a freshman at Mississippi University for Women (Mississippi State College for Women at the time) where she was elected student body president and Miss MSCW. With great amusement, she considered convincing President Burney Parkinson to allow the first jukebox on campus among her greatest college achievements.

In 1945, she graduated from The W with a B.S. in history and a minor in art. She first worked in President Parkinson’s office and then taught high school art for a year in Monroe , Louisiana . In the fall of 1947, she moved to New York City and received an M.A. in art from Columbia University in 1948. She taught high school art for one year in Clarksdale , Mississippi , before returning to The W in the fall of 1949.

At The W, she served as an associate professor of art (1949-1978), professor of art (1978-1980), assistant dean of Arts and Sciences (1980-1982), and head of the Division of Fine and Performing Arts (1982-1987). In 1987, after teaching thousands of students, she retired and was named a professor emerita.

Following her retirement, she was on campus regularly for art shows, performances, and celebrations, and she proudly served as a director and director emerita of the MUW Foundation Board. She was awarded the Alumnae Achievement Award and the Medal of Excellence, and the Eugenia Summer Gallery in the Fine Arts Building was named in her honor in 2002. She received an honorary doctorate in 2005 in recognition of her lifelong service to and support of the university.

She continued working to develop her skills as an artist and teacher throughout her career. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the California College of Arts and Crafts, the Penland School of Crafts, Columbia University ’s School of Painting and Sculpture, Columbia University ’s Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University ’s Teachers College, the University of North Carolina Women ’s College, the University of Mississippi , and Seattle University .

Ranging from soft, watercolor scenes to bold, nonobjective works exploring color and space, her paintings were selected for more than 65 juried exhibits. Her work has been shown in Mississippi , Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Florida , Tennessee , and Washington , D.C. , and is held in a number of museums and private collections. In 2001, she was honored for her artistic achievements by the Mississippi State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

She was a longtime member of Annunciation Catholic Church and played an important role in the planning and design of the new sanctuary dedicated in 2000. She traveled to Paris to study Sainte-Chapelle and brought her impressions of and ideas from the 13 th century chapel to the building project.

She enjoyed a wide circle of friends including many of her former students. She was valued for her loyalty, honesty, compassion, curiosity, and her keen sense of humor that contributed to her remarkable talent as a raconteur. Her richly detailed stories and recollections brought immeasurable joy to others.

Pallbearers are Henry Barclay, Carl Garton, Joe Haftek, Al Halverson, Dick Mahoney, Willis Pope, and Tony Torez. Honorary pall bearers are Jim Borsig, Kay Callaway, Larry Feeney, Bobbie Fowler, Barbara Garrett, Rachel George, Elayne Goodman, Karen Henry, Jean Laney, Marchita Mauck, Walter McKay, Ethel and Jerry Mitchener, Carolyn Pope, Mary Margaret Roberts, Barbara Smith, and James Woodard. Additional honorary pall bearers are Angie Bridgeman, Alice Chain, Jennifer Lucas, and other Trinity Personal Care staff members as well as Robi Kennedy , Chad Kingsbury, Stephanie Whitmire, and other Camellia Hospice staff members at Trinity.

Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 26, at Annunciation Catholic Church followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. with Father Robert Dore officiating. She then will be buried alongside her parents and brother in Glenwood Cemetery in Yazoo City at 3:30 p.m. Gunter & Peel Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Remembrances may be made to the Eugenia Summer Scholarship Fund at the MUW Foundation, 1100 College Street , MUW-1618, Columbus , MS , 37901 , or Annunciation Catholic Church, 823 College Street , Columbus , MS , 39701 .