Paula McKenzie Obituary

Paula Marie Davenport McKenzie, 85, of Wilmington, NC, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2024.

Paula was born in Owosso, Michigan on May 26, 1939, to Richard and Etta Davenport. Her mother Etta passed away when Paula was very young, but she was lovingly raised by her father and her stepmother, Ann Albigese Davenport.  

After high school, Paula met Gerald McKenzie, an engineer at General Electric in Scotia, New York. They married in 1959 and began their journey together in upstate New York. They adopted their daughter Vicki Ann in 1963. In 1965, Paula gave birth to their son Richard Scott. After Vicki Ann passed away in 1968 from leukemia at the age of five and a half, the couple adopted their daughter Suzanne Marie in 1969. Shortly afterwards, the family relocated to Wilmington, NC.

Over the 50 years Paula lived in Wilmington, she surrounded herself with family, friends, and community that included volunteering for many years with the Humane Society and Cameron Art Museum, singing in the church choir, and playing weekly tennis matches with her beloved group of friends. In her later years, she thoroughly enjoyed her weekly card games and luncheons and looked forward to spending time with her lively, hysterical friends.

Paula was known for her quick wit and dry sense of humor. Her memorable one line quips put people in stitches, and she loved nothing more than entertaining. Paula was a consummate, lifelong learner who always read late into the night, usually on her phone while curled up in bed. She could finish the morning crossword puzzle before her daughter could brew coffee, and she rarely answered trivia questions incorrectly, regardless of the genre or time period.

Paula was preceded in death by her daughter Vicki Ann in July 1968, first husband Gerald Wildrey McKenzie in July 1999, and her second husband Dale Louis Nahm in July 2020. She is survived by her son Richard McKenzie and his wife Maria of Cincinnati, Ohio, and their two sons, Matthew of Princeton, New Jersey, and James of Cincinnati, Ohio; and her daughter Suzanne Bragg and her husband Patrick of Boulder, Colorado, and Wilmington, North Carolina. Paula is also survived by her sister, Barbara Davenport Ulrich and her nieces Wendy Ulrich Mahalingam and husband Sri, Dr. Natalie Ulrich Hauser and her husband Dr. Michael Hauser, and Becky Ulrich Rauch and her husband Eric. In addition, Paula is survived by her stepdaughter Gail Jordan and her husband John and step granddaughter Kimberly Jordan and her husband Christopher Fleming.

Special thanks to Lower Cape Fear home Hospice nurse, Kirsten Nemmers, and the entire Hospice staff for their dedication, honesty, and loving manner.

A memorial service will be held at Andrews Mortuary South College Road Chapel on Friday, October 4th from 2-3:30 p.m., where friends and family will gather to celebrate Paula’s life.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to the Lower Cape Fear LifeCare https://lifecare.org/donate/, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital  https://www.stjude.org/, or an animal welfare charity of your choice.