Gypsy Satterwhite

Gypsy Lee Hargett Satterwhite, age 82, died peacefully on Thursday, July 30, 2015 at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC. She was born on January 13, 1933 in Charlotte, NC to Lula Conrad Hargett and Zeb Eustace Hargett. In addition to her parents, Gypsy was preceded in death by her brother, Zeb Eustace Hargett Jr. She is survived by her beloved husband, Dan Hicks Satterwhite; and her sisters, Tina Aldret of Hilton Head, South Carolina and Linda Mayfield (husband Thomas) of Charlotte. She was the devoted mother of three children: Lisa (husband Martyn Darby) of Chapel Hill, Julie (husband Ken Fussell) of Arden, and Dan Jr. (wife Tina) of Wilton Manors, Florida, and the proud grandmother of Ben Fussell, Matt Darby, Sam Darby, and Mark Satterwhite. Gypsy graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from Limestone College in 1953, and worked at the Celanese Corporation of America from 1954-55, where she met her husband of nearly 60 years, fellow chemist Dan Satterwhite of Salisbury NC. They married and moved to Asheville, fell in love with the mountains and raised their family there. Music meant everything to Gypsy. She studied piano and organ, and served for many years as organist of Trinity United Methodist Church and organist-choir director at St. Mark's Lutheran Church. Gypsy was a longtime and enthusiastic member of the alto section of the First Baptist Church choir, the Asheville Choral Society, and the Asheville Symphony Chorus. She was a longtime member of First Baptist Church and attended the Joy Sunday school class. An avid cook, Gypsy started her own wedding catering business, serving the Asheville area for many years. Gypsy was selected twice to create a gingerbread replica of the Biltmore House for holiday displays at the estate. Cooking and sharing recipes was her passion and she was proud to have cooked alongside Julia Child. In 1988, she fulfilled a dream and became proprietor of Creative Yarns in Biltmore Village, a center of needlework and knitting expertise at that time. In later years, Gypsy continued to spread her enthusiasm for needlework by teaching in yarn shops in the Asheville area. Calls from friends with knitting questions on Saturdays developed into an informal knitting hotline. No craft escaped her attention. Over the years, she practiced and taught workshops in candle making, cake decorating, painting, ceramics, sewing, quilting, and all manner of needlework. She was commissioned to needlepoint one of the chair seats for the Governor's mansion in Raleigh and designed altar kneelers for area churches. All her creations were equal parts love and hard-work, with a good dose of her special sense of humor. Gypsy lived according to her own lights, was a wonderful creative spirit, a faithful friend to many, and shared with others what joy she had found that day. She was our guiding light, filled with love. Her kindness, thoughtfulness and energy will be missed beyond measure. A memorial service to celebrate Gypsy's life will be held on Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 2 pm at First Baptist Church, 5 Oak Street, Asheville, NC 28801. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Brevard Music Center, www.brevardmusic.org and JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org .