Jessamine “Jesse” Pearce Christie went home to be with our Lord and Savior on March 21, 2017, surrounded by her family.
Jesse was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, to Pauline and Johnnie Pearce on July 30, 1944. She was a bright ray of sunshine from her first breath to her very last. After graduating high school, she attended Lenoir-Rhyne College, and eventually moved to the Tidewater area in Virginia.
In 1986, she married Paul, and they moved to Mathews, as owners of Christie Chevrolet-Oldsmobile until 1991, when they purchased Sandpiper Reef Restaurant at Misti Cove in Hallieford. Jesse’s love of cooking shone through as she created delicious meals in Sandpiper’s kitchen, until retiring in 2005.
During her 31 years in Mathews, she enjoyed contributing her time to a variety of causes and community organizations, serving as a board member and volunteer to several organizations including: the Mathews County Visitors Center (McVIC); the International Order of The King’s Daughters North River Chapter, and P.E.O. Virginia Chapter BT. She was a member of Apostles Lutheran Church in Gloucester, and Kingston Episcopal Parish in Mathews.
Jesse treasured time spent with her family and friends, discovering new recipes, organic gardening and she cherished every moment at home in her “happy place” on Queens Creek.
Her wisdom, faith and spirited independence are an inspiration to family and friends, alike, and will be carried in their hearts for all time.
She is survived by her daughter, Amy K. Gray, of Gloucester; her grandsons, Travis Robbins of Chesapeake, and Graham Robbins of Gloucester; her brother, William Bryant Pearce (Viola); nephew, Vernon Pearce (Sue); niece, Sharon Mitchell (Chris) and their daughters, Allie and Rebecca, all of Cascade; her stepdaughter, Cheryl Christie of Machiasport, Maine; a stepson, Charles Christie (Christine) of Campobello, South Carolina, and their two sons, Robert and Connor, and cherished friends, Edward and Pam McNamee.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul W. Christie, and her parents, Pauline Tyson Pearce and Johnnie Carlton Pearce.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2017, at Apostles Lutheran Church, in Gloucester, beginning at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery in Mathews.
The family wishes to extend a very special thanks to Christy Parker-McCuistion and Gina M. Rowe with Riverside Walter Reed Hospice staff for their superlative care, support and compassion.