Nell Overton Barnhill

Nell Overton Barnhill, age 98, died Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Elizabethtown, her hometown since 1955.

Mrs. Barnhill was born in a farmhouse just east of Stokes, NC, on September 24, 1925. She was the ninth of 10 children of John Edward and Ruth Whichard Overton and was the last survivor of that family.

Mrs. Barnhill remembered bringing in stove wood and gathering warm eggs from the henhouse as a child. Her family raised and prepared prodigious amounts of food and frequently had extended family and church visitors at the dinner table. 

Farming families in the community were close, and young Nellie Overton met her future husband, Otha Barnhill, at a neighbor’s picnic. He promised to look her up in a few years, and he did.

They married on March 24, 1944. Mrs. Barnhill attended East Carolina Teachers College in Greenville while her husband served in the US Army during World War II. She was awarded a BA degree on June 2, 1947.

The couple moved to Chapel Hill when Mr. Barnhill enrolled in medical school at UNC. Their first child was born during this time. They later moved to Charlottesville, where he completed his MD at the University of Virginia Medical School. While in Charlottesville, Mrs. Barnhill worked as a secretary at the University.

The Barnhills moved to Durham in 1953 for Dr. Barnhill’s residency. Mrs. Barnhill became personal secretary to Dr. Philip Handler, chairman of Duke University’s Department of Biochemistry, and later president of the National Academy of Sciences. A second child was born in Durham in April 1955. 

The family moved to Elizabethtown in June 1955, and added their third child in 1957. Dr. Barnhill opened his medical practice, the family joined the Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, and they became part of the community. 

Mrs. Barnhill was a devoted and beloved wife and mother. She supported her husband and children in all their activities and was always a source of comfort and inspiration.  She liked to read and was a whiz at crossword puzzles. She was active in the church and received a lifetime membership in Women of the Church. She and her husband enjoyed dancing and were regular participants in Merrymakers, a frequent gathering for dinner and dancing. The family enjoyed time at their cottage at White Lake over the years and frequently visited their extended family in Pitt County. Mrs. Barnhill could occasionally be persuaded to join a fishing trip, but not often.

Her greatest joy, as she aged, was the arrival of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Mrs. Barnhill’s health began to decline in her late 80’s, and, in 2012, she lost her husband. She faced the hard facts of aging and illness with courage and frequently assured her children that she was “just fine”. 

Indeed, she was very fine, an intelligent, loving, resourceful, and modest woman. She leaves her children and grandchildren with a deep sense of pride and gratitude for her loving care.

Nell Barnhill is survived by her children: Donna B. Clark of Durham; John Allen Barnhill and his wife, Kathy, of Houston, TX; and Jennifer Nell Barnhill of White Lake.

Her grandchildren are Martha Odom and her husband, Tommy, and Leslie Clark, all of Charlotte; Jason Clark of Pahoa, HI; Julia Barnhill of Houston, TX; and Joshua Barnhill and his wife, Libby, of Waco, TX.
 
Her great grandchildren are Annie Odom of Austin, TX; Max Odom, who inherited her red hair, of Brooklyn, NY; Tripp Odom of Taipei, Taiwan; and a very special recent addition, her namesake, little Nellie Elizabeth Barnhill of Waco, TX.

She is also survived by her son-in-law John Clark of Charlotte and by 25 nieces and nephews and their legions of progeny across the nation and beyond. 

An informal memorial service will be held at a later date.