Emily Francis Santowasso | Eastern NC Now

    Emily was born on the family farm in Washington NC (now known as 1838 Carolina Ave/Rt.17) to William Johnston Francis and Ethel Lee Witherington Francis in November of 1935. She attended John Small School and Washington High School, graduating in 1954. She excelled at reading, bowling, tennis, basketball, painting and playing the French horn in band. Following high school, she was accepted to Duke University Pre-med, however, she chose to attend Rex Hospital School of Nursing in Raleigh where she received her degree as a registered nurse in 1957 and worked there as a grad student. It was during this time when she met her future husband, an NC State Engineering student from NJ, an Italian man named Leo.

    They were married on August 31st, 1957, at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church located at 1110 N. Market Street, Washington NC (now known as Mizpah Manor & Chapel) It was the only Catholic Church with-in a hundred miles. After a brief honeymoon in Nags Head, they headed to NJ where Emily took the State Boards for Nursing and received national reciprocity. Her first paid job was at Presbyterian Hospital in Newark NJ, where she worked in the Newborn/Premature nurseries for six months before heading to Illinois (in an Army related move with husband Leo) to Cahokia Township Hospital as a staff nurse in Med/Surgery. The next move was west to Salinas California, (with Leo serving at Fort Ord) where she attended Hartnell Junior College and worked at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital as a staff and private duty nurse. While in California, Emily gave birth to their first child and only daughter Miriam in October of 1959. They then moved back to New Jersey where Emily briefly worked at Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield as a Charge Nurse in Obstetrics. In yet another move, they returned to Raleigh in 1961 and bought the "Green House" where they spent a few more years while Leo completed his Master's degree at NC State. Their son Michael was born in Raleigh in January of 1965. Emily worked the Emergency, Delivery and Premature Wards at Rex Hospital until they moved to Flemington, NJ in the summer of 1968 when Leo went to work for Exxon. During this time, Emily was a Supervisor at JFK Memorial in Edison up until the birth of their second son David, in January of 1972. She became a full-time stay-at-home mother after that episode and would seek escape by becoming a member and officer of the Flemington Woman's Club, D.A.R., and League of Women's Voters. She founded the Hunterdon Medical Centers "Lights of Love" and chaired the program for 30 years. Emily was a member of the "Blue Chippers" Investment Group, a group of lady friends known as the "Gathering", and Copper Hill Country Club where she won several Doubles Tennis Championships. She eventually enjoyed playing golf with her husband, youngest child David and her many, many friends. She also worked as a part-time School Nurse at Robert Hunter Elementary School in Raritan Twp. Later Emily earned a degree in Psychology from St. Joseph's University of Maine in 1984.

    Emily loved college basketball and was the official neighborhood "Bracketologist" for March Madness. She devoured books daily, highly influenced by her 4th grade teacher/mentor Ms. Dorothy Squires, with whom she had a life-long friendship. Emily was a published author as well. She illustrated coloring books of Hunterdon County in 1978-1980 and wrote poetry all her life, inspired by her favorite poet Emily Dickinson. She was extremely proud of having received honorable mention in the National Poetry contest for her poem entitled "A friend who was and cannot be". Emily loved watching the New York Yankees, accompanied by a big bowl of popcorn and of course her staple beverage, Dr. Pepper. She loved her Dr. Pepper. Emily may have been personally responsible for keeping the company in business by introducing Dr. Pepper to the masses in the Northeast in the 1970's. In the early years, Emily would bootleg Dr. Pepper from the Carolinas and ration out bottles on special occasions to herself and a very select few. Being caught "sneaking a Dr" without permission could easily mean certain death. No one dare try her patience on that front. Though she nearly burned down two apartment buildings early in her marriage, her background in Southern cooking learned from her mother, combined with lessons on how to cook the "Italian way" from her mother-in-law, sister-in law, and numerous other cousins from her husband's side, Emily became an outstanding cook. Her hand-fashioned southern staples of fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, collards, fried okra, pimento cheese sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, fudge, apple pie, and potato salad were impeccable

    Emily would often return to North Carolina. She took numerous yearly trips with her children back to her mother's house in "Lil Washington" to vacation for weeks at a cottage on the Pamlico River at Hawkins Beach, to timeshares in New Bern NC at Fairfield Harbor, and properties on Hilton Head Island. Family, books, golf, and tennis were always at the forefront.

    Eventually, full-time retirement found her back in North Carolina to her new home at Pinehurst No.6, a place her children affectionately refer to as "The Bird House". Here Emily spent her time reading, bird watching, collecting antiques, pottery, photography and even rediscovering her love for painting. This is also where she earned her nickname, "Susie Snap-shot"' due to her ability to catch a glimpse of her own blurry finger in a frame. Her love for pottery grew even further when she discovered the many potteries surrounding nearby Seagrove. She loved to post pictures to her Facebook page, once she figured out the technology. Emily was very, VERY proud of her "stubborn redhead" moniker. She was fiercely independent and many would say 'feisty', even to the very end.

    She leaves behind a daughter Miriam, her husband Joseph A. Cash II of Downingtown, PA, and their three children, Joseph and Tiba Cash and great grandson Osian, Liam and Taylor Cash, and Shane Cash and Olivia Stathes, a son Michael and wife Becky of Raleigh NC., and son David with her grandchildren from his family, Reiley, William and Zoey Santowasso of Alpha NJ, sister Leigh Barbour of Aberdeen, NC, sister-in-law Susan Francis of Washington, NC, sister-in-law Betty Braucht of Neptune, NJ, and many nieces, nephews, and their children of the Francis, O'Neal, and Goodwin families in Washington, Bath, and Southern Pines, NC.

    A Celebration of Life will take place Saturday April 18th, 2026, at 1pm at Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, located in Flemington, NJ.

    An additional service by Paul Funeral Home will be held on Monday August 31st, 2026, at 10 am in Washington, NC. Burial to follow at Oakdale Cemetery, E.15th Street, Washington, NC.

    Memorial contributions in Emily's memory may be made to the following three organizations:

    Liberty Home Care and Hospice, 300 W Pennsylvania Ave, Southern Pines, NC 28387

    American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741

    Hunterdon Health Auxiliary - Lights of Love Ceremony via the Hunterdon Health Foundation, 9100 Wescott Drive, Suite 202, Flemington, NJ 08822.

    Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Santowasso family.