Obituary

ROCKY MOUNT – Emily Crews Shearin, a devoted wife and mother, beloved nurse, and centenarian, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2025, at the age of 103 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Born in 1921 in Oxford, NC, Crews lived a remarkable life marked by compassion, dedication, and an enduring commitment to service.

Crews graduated from the Park View Hospital School of Nursing in 1943. At a time when a three-year nursing program cost only $100, she trained under challenging circumstances, gaining valuable skills and fortitude. A vivid memory from those early training years was December 7, 1941, when she learned of the Pearl Harbor attack while cleaning the hospital morgue—a moment that underscored the gravity of her work during a tumultuous era.

After earning her nursing degree Crews considered joining the Army Nurse Corps, but chose to build her life alongside her husband, Earl Creech Shearin, an Army Technical Sergeant. As he served in the military, she worked as a health department nurse in Georgia, as an Army hospital nurse in Alabama, and as a First Aid nurse on an ammunition line in New Jersey.

Together they settled in Rocky Mount in 1951 where they raised four children: two sons and two daughters, nurturing a family built on family, faith, and friends.

Crews’ nursing career spanned a period of profound transformation in healthcare. In April 2024, at the age of 102, Crews attended the 110th anniversary celebration of the Park View Hospital School of Nursing, sharing her memories and inspiring younger generations of nurses with her incredible story.

In her retirement years she began each day with devotions and prayer, then turned to numerous activities that drew on her talents, skills, and desire to serve others: volunteering for Meals on Wheels; helping with the Mother’s Day Out program and cooking in the kitchen of her church; knitting stocking caps for cancer patients; and knitting Christmas stockings for family and friends.

Crews will be remembered for her nurturing spirit, her unwavering dedication to her family and community, and her remarkable contributions to healthcare. Her legacy lives on in the countless lives she touched and the rich history she shared.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, E. C. Shearin and a grandson, Jeff Jackson. She is survived by her children: E.C. (Tim) Shearin, Jr. (Rita), Jane Shearin Currin (Wyatt), Barbara Jill Shearin, and David B. Shearin (Sherry); her grandchildren: Abby E. Currin; Ross A. Kirby; Emily S. Harper; and Emily P. McCombs; and her great-grandchildren (Jennifer Jackson; Sarah and Emily Creel; Connor and Riley Kirby; Charlie, Kate, and Winston Harper).

In addition, she is survived by her sister-in-law, Hodgie Shearin McGinty (soon also to be 103), countless nieces and nephews, as well as their children, in the Crews and Shearin families whom she loved.

They carry forward the values she both modeled and instilled.

The family will receive friends and relatives on Friday, January 10, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804.

A celebration of Crews’ life will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 1:00 PM at Englewood Baptist Church, 1350 S. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804 with the Dr. Michael Cloer officiating.

The service will be live streamed, and the link is englewoodbaptist.com/funeral.

A private family committal service will take place at Rocky Mount Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in Crews’ memory to (1) Park View Nurses Scholarship fund at Nash County Community College (522 N Old Carriage Rd., Rocky Mount, NC 27804), or (2) Nash-UNC Health Care Hospice & Palliative Care (2460 Curtis Ellis Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 27804), or (3) Fund for Special Needs Children at Englewood Baptist Church (1350 S. Winstead Ave., Rocky Mount, NC 27803).

Arrangements entrusted to Wheler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com.