EWING–Sheila Cobb. – Poet, actress, and lover of literature and the arts, died Tuesday, November 3, in Winston-Salem, NC, of multiple myeloma. Born in New York on April 1, 1939, she was married for 45 years to her beloved husband Alex C. Ewing, following the death of her first husband Michael deShee Clarke. She graduated from Vassar College in 1961, and earned masters degrees from Columbia University and Sarah Lawrence. With a firm and loving hand, she raised four children, daughter Cecilia Clarke and stepchildren Sandy, Eric and Caroline Ewing, in Millbrook, NY, where she lived from 1970 to 1990. When Alex’s appointment as Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts unexpectedly brought them to Winston-Salem, she embraced with gusto her new role as First Lady of NCSA. In addition, she performed in plays, wrote book reviews and travel articles, volunteered at a hospital, sang in the St. Paul’s Church choir, maintained a beautiful flower garden, and played tennis and a matchless game of Scrabble. A lifelong lover of Ireland, she and Alex returned frequently to their home-away-from-home in County Cork. She lived her life with verve, style, unflagging humor and impeccable taste, and brought forth beauty from whatever she touched. She was the best friend not only of her husband but also of an astonishing number of others. She saw people deeply, and in their most critical moments reached them with her unerring insight, often expressed in long-treasured letters. In everything she did, she set very high standards for herself and always met them. In addition to her husband Alex and her four children, she is survived by her brother John Whitehouse Cobb of Denver, Colorado, her sister Victoria Mackintosh of Alresford, Hampshire, England, and eight grandchildren: Allegra Eifler, Josephine and Simon Born, Alden and Caleb Ewing, and Nathan, Seth and Henry Ewing-Crystal. The funeral will be Monday, November 9, at 11am at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem. Contributions may be made in Sheila’s memory to the Sheila Cobb Scholarship at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
