Julia Cuthbertson Clarkson

Julia (Julie) Cuthbertson Clarkson, who was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 6, 1929, died peacefully at home on April 2, 2025. She was the daughter of Julia Hagood Cuthbertson and William Reynolds Cuthbertson. Julie attended the Charlotte city schools, graduating from Central High School in 1947. She was a 1951 graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, and a 1984 graduate of the Divinity School of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She also attended the General Theological Seminary in New York City.

Julie was an ordained priest in the Episcopal church, having served the following parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina: St.Christopher’s, High Point; Grace Church, Lexington; and St. Peter’s Church, Charlotte. Julie was known for her devotion to the churches and people she served, and particularly for her kindness and pastoral care. 

A member and past president of the Junior League of Charlotte, she was also a member of the Fellowship of the Society of St. John the Evangelist of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

Julie is survived by her daughter, Julie Clarkson Kimball, and her husband, Stephen, of Kentfield, California; two sons - Francis Osborne Clarkson, III, and his wife, Tracey, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Robert Heriot Clarkson of Hampstead, North Carolina; six grandchildren - Lauren Kimball Grubbs, and her husband Boyd Grubbs, Katherine Clarkson Kimball, William Carter Kimball, Robert Heriot Clarkson, Jr., William Wright Clarkson, and his fiancée Brittany Ruhland, and Emma Hagood Clarkson; two great-grandchildren - Grey Carter Grubbs and Sloane Billie Grubbs. Also, six beloved nieces and nephews: John Faulkner, Reynolds Faulkner, Carol Hamrick, Ellen Archer, Bill Cuthbertson, and Tom Cuthbertson; their spouses, children, and grandchildren. 

Julie was predeceased by her parents, and by her sister Marie Cuthbertson Faulkner, who died on October 12, 2012, and by her brother William Reynolds Cuthbertson, Jr., who died on February 4, 2025. 

In her quiet way, Julie made a lasting impact on many people. She tended her relationships with family, colleagues, parishioners, and friends with attention and care. She was widely known for her hospitality, generosity, and kindness to old friends and new acquaintances. She was an avid reader, a dedicated journal writer, and an enthusiastic and lifelong learner. Julie was a genuine and no-nonsense person with a rich interior life, a deep and abiding spirituality, and a humble love of God. 

Julie’s family is forever grateful to the caregivers who in recent years made it possible for her to live peacefully at home with Alzheimer’s disease; especially Julisha, Tamara, JD, Janice, and Shera, who will always be part of our family. 

A memorial service for the Rev. Julie Clarkson will take place at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, at the corner of North Tryon and Seventh streets, on Saturday, May 3 at 11 a.m. Following the service, the family will receive friends at a reception in the Martha Bowles Parish Hall at the church. 

Memorial gifts may be sent to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 115 W. 7th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202, or to the charity of your choice. Tribute & Tallent Funerals & Cremations is serving the Clarkson family.