Page Nevins Villines, 79, a resident of Fairhope, died Monday, Sept. 17, 2007.
Born Dec. 24, 1927 in Hattiesburg, Miss., she grew up in Birmingham, where she raised her family and spent most of her life. Her home away from home was Fairhope, where she and her husband Dallas spent many years sailing on Mobile Bay, retiring to Fairhope in later years.
A University of Alabama School of Education graduate, she was a former school teacher and Girl Scout leader, who loved hands-on learning and the outdoors. An avid gardener — who some years grew cotton in front of her Mountain Brook home — she went back to college in her 60s and earned an associates degree in horticulture from Bessemer Tech. At an age that most people retire, she began her work in landscaping and garden consulting in the Birmingham area.
A homemaker and community volunteer, she was a lifelong member of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, making St. Stephens Charismatic Episcopal Church in Daphne her retirement church home. Throughout her life, her gift of hospitality blessed others — in the church, Pine Harbor Yacht Club, Mountain Brook Swim & Tennis Club, and Red Mountain Garden Club.
She was a volunteer with the American Red Cross, PTA, the Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and, upon retiring to Fairhope, The Haven animal shelter. Her hobbies included reading, sailing, gardening, tennis, sewing, cooking … and making people feel special.
She had an ageless energetic spirit and a personal joie de vivre, and her common sense and wisdom were much sought out for advice. She was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Dallas Madison Villines.
Survivors include a daughter, Page Villines (Edward Lee Robinson Jr.) Robinson of Fairhope; four grandchildren, Lindsay Page, Christopher Lee, Virginia Anne and Sean Edward Robinson, all of Fairhope; many nieces and nephews in the Birmingham area.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23 in the Rector’s GArden of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham with the Rev. Canon Joseph P. Warren officiating. Family and friends are invited to gather prior to the service in the Advent Living Room.
The family requests memorial donations be made to St. Stephens Church in Daphne, Covenant Hospice of Baldwin County, or The Haven.
Arrangements are by Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home in Fairhope.
