Nancy (Reid) Dupuy Wilson, 95 years old, 8 months, and 16 days, of Black Mountain, left this world on February 22, 2017, in Asheville, NC. Nancy was born on June 6, 1921. Her father, Thornton Dudley Dupuy was an avid fisherman, hunter, and insurance salesman. Her mother, Elizabeth Alice Wilkinson Dupuy, received her Masters in Teaching from Columbia and was known to be a generous and skilled cook. Nancy was born and raised in the home, “Needmore,” that her father built in Greensboro, NC. She was the youngest of three daughters, and was always close with her older sisters, Betsy and Jane, who she missed dearly at the end of her life.
Nancy is preceded in death by her husband, John Knox Wilson and her daughter, Elizabeth Ann Seto. Her survivors include daughter, Susan Mucci (Richard); sons, John Wilson Jr. (Mary), Dudley Wilson (Alice Coblentz), Peter Wilson, and Frank Wilson (Amy Fuller). Her devoted tribe of grandchildren include Lauren Seto, Katy Seto, Emily Wilson, Luke Wilson, Daniel Wilson, Rose Wilson, Tucker Wilson, Ruby Wilson, Maddy Wilson, Gretalyn Easler, Molly Dockery, Hannah Creel, Joe Fuller, and David Wilson; and great grandson, Max Seto.
As a child Nancy loved to roller skate around the UNC-Greensboro campus, and hiked miles around town as she racked up the miles needed to win the North Carolina Fitness Award. She loved to play baseball, and pitched for the girls team and played catcher for the boys team. She graduated from Greensboro’s Curry High School in 1938. Nancy attended UNC-Greensboro and graduated from Longwood Women's College in Farmville, Virginia where she majored in Physical Education and Sociology. Always an avid athlete, while in college she won multiple swimming awards for her steady breaststroke. Following her graduation from Longwood in 1942, she worked as Youth Director for YWCA programs in Danville, VA; Pasadena, CA; and New Orleans. She also worked in youth education at a Presbyterian church in Baton Rouge. She spoke fondly about her adventures and travels as a young professional, and had a special knack for finding the best swimming spots wherever she ended up.
In 1948, after seven years of writing each other letters, and a brief (but decisive) summer engagement, Nancy married Dr. John Knox Wilson, a pediatrician, and they began their life and family together in Greensboro, NC. As a wife, mother, and community member, Nancy was active and dedicated to service and justice. In the 1950s and 1960s she worked as an ally and activist around desegregation efforts in her home state. In 1966 the family moved to Sacramento, CA and then in 1968 to Chunju, Korea where her husband worked as a medical missionary. From Chunju, the family moved to Scottsville, VA, and then Whitesburg, KY. She initiated YWCA programs in Chunju and Scottsville and organized the first United Way campaign in Whitesburg.
In 1975 Nancy and John moved back to Black Mountain, North Carolina, where Dr. Wilson continued working as a pediatrician, and Nancy got to work establishing a child care center for low income families, working with Meals on Wheels, and serving with her Black Mountain Presbyterian Ministry to Women Prisoners. In retirement, Nancy and John traveled all over the world, doing emergency relief work in Thailand, Cambodia, Lebanon, Kenya, and Lesotho.
Nancy loved the mountains surrounding her home on Lake Tomahawk. During the summer she could often be found with a BLT (with fresh tomatoes from John’s garden), on her deck enjoying the view of the Seven Sisters and Craggy Gardens mountain ranges. Nancy was a fierce protector of the birds who came to her bird feeders. She could play a mean game of bridge and taught all of her grandchildren the art of skillful bidding during ruthless Thanksgiving games of Nines Down.
Nancy was bold, and brave. She will be missed dearly and is loved fiercely by those she leaves behind.
A memorial service will be held at 402 W. Connally Street in Black Mountain on May 19, 2017.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Nancy Wilson (Dupuy), please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.