Emogene Winecoff Chandler of Lumberton died Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, at Southeastern Hospice House after a long and fruitful life followed by a brief period of declining health. She was 86.

The daughter of Oney Flowe and Lucy Fisher Winecoff, Emogene was born Sept. 28, 1929, in Concord. She graduated in 1946 from Concord High School and attended High Point College for a one-year business program. There she met the late Ralph Maynard Chandler of Pembroke, who she married in 1951.

Coming to Lumberton with her husband, Emogene began to work for Robeson County government in 1951 as a bookkeeper and secretary to the county manager. Her career with the county would run until 1989, when she retired as its first finance officer. Her responsibilities ran the gamut from the precise accounting of millions of dollars in government accounts to overseeing the county's implementation of its first computer-driven payroll system to helping prepare the county's annual budget.

Retirement did not end her active life. She enjoyed working part time for several years at The Kelly Green Café and Smithy's Gifts, both in Lumberton. In civic life, she was a member of the OK Club, including serving several terms as its president, the Red Hat Society, the Christian Women's Club and book and gardening clubs. She also enjoyed traveling and playing board games with groups of friends.

At her home, Emogene took pride in working in her yard, particularly the shaded nook in the lot's southwest corner. She also was an avid crossword puzzle solver and enjoyed spending hours talking with friends and neighbors over cups of International Café coffee served at her kitchen table. Later in life, she also had the opportunity to enjoy the love of her Shelties, Magic and Big John.

To celebrate her life, the family will hold a graveside service at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, at the Chandler family plot in Meadowbrook Cemetery. Dr. David Elks, pastor of First Baptist Church where Emogene was a member, will officiate. Friends and neighbors will be received at the graveside after the service and at other times at the family home.

Emogene was preceded in death by her parents and husband.

Her survivors include a son, Ross Chandler of Rocky Mount; a niece, Marty Erwin Hughes, and her husband, Jack, of Gastonia; nephews Billy Erwin Jr. and his wife, Lynn, of Kannapolis, and Rick Erwin and his wife, Crystal, of Landis; and dear friends Shelby and Joe Young, Linda Scoggin, Evelyn Price and Cindy Faircloth, all of Lumberton.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a memorial gift be made in Emogene's name to Camp Willow Run, 190 Mangum Lane, Littleton, NC 27850.