Obituary of Mary Rochelle Atwater

Mary “Rochelle” Atwater, daughter of the late Ben and Bertha Atwater of Chapel Hill, passed away on March 16, 2021 at Brookdale Chapel Hill Assisted Living. 

Rochelle was born September 16, 1926 in Chatham County, graduated from Pittsboro High School and, afterwards, the secretarial school at Pittsboro High School. Following graduation, she worked at the BC Plant and Baldwins Department Store in Durham before following her dream of moving to Washington, DC. She spent most of her career there, employed by Watergate Developers of Washington, DC, and International Developers Incorporated. Upon her retirement in 1995, she moved back to Chapel Hill. She was a member of Foundry Methodist Church of Washington, DC before transferring her membership back to Cedar Grove United Methodist Church. She was an avid Tarheel fan, a member of The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and The National Society of Colonial Dames XVII Century.

Rochelle is survived by her nieces and nephews, Terry Hall (Richard) of Rougemont, NC; Eddie Kirk (Melva) of Durham, NC; David Atwater, Jr. (Karen) of Durham, NC; and Sheila Bishop (Brian) of Newport News, Virginia; 8 great nieces and nephews, their spouses, and children.

In addition to her parents, Rochelle was preceded in death by two siblings, Bynum Atwater Kirk and David Elbridge Atwater, Sr. 

A graveside service was held at 2:00 on Saturday, March 20, 2021, at Cedar Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery. Officiating was Rev. Danny Berrier. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, 2791 Jones Ferry Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

The Atwater family is under the care of Walker’s Funeral Home of Chapel Hill.