Eva Nicholas Bernhardt Bingham

Eva Nicholas Bernhardt Bingham of Salisbury, 63, died at Novant Rowan Medical Center on Monday, August 6, 2018. The daughter of Paul Leake and Naomi Helen Rink Bernhardt, she was born December 3, 1954, in Salisbury. Eva was a member of the Salisbury High School Class of 1973. She made her debut at the Shelby Debutante Ball in 1973. At her graduation exercises at St. Mary’s College, Raleigh, she was recognized for attaining the highest-grade point average in the school. She continued her education at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she majored in English History and Chinese Civilization. She graduated with a BA degree in 1977. Following graduation, Eva worked for several years with an advertising firm in New York City. She then returned to Salisbury to assist her father with the family business, Bernhardt Hardware. On December 30, 1992, she married David Yates Bingham. Eva was a member of the Rowan Committee of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of North Carolina, Travelers’ Club, two book clubs, Drift and Oasis, and The Dinner Club. Active in the community, she served on the Board of Directors of the Rowan Museum, Inc. and the Rowan Public Library Foundation, and on committees for the Salisbury-Rowan Heart Fund Ball, Inc., the Rowan Museum Antiques Show and Downtown Salisbury, Inc. Her travels in Europe, Japan and Latin America, her profound love of reading, encyclopedic memory and brilliant wit were a wonder. She was an invaluable resource of information for her friends. She was known for her compassionate nature and delighted in caring for all those who needed her help. Eva was the epitome of kindness, generosity and charm. Eva was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Paul Leake “P.B.” Bernhardt Jr.; her grand-parents: Leake Augustus and Eva Rebecca Nicholas Bernhardt, Hillery Hudson and Carrie Ethel Fleming Rink; and her mother-in-law, Ann Barnwell Bingham, who made her home with Eva and David. Left to cherish her memory are her husband, David Yates Bingham; her uncles, John F. Rink and Donald E. Rink; and her dear, lifelong friend, Lillian Heitman Gascoigne. Service and Burial: Funeral Service will be at St. John’s Lutheran Church at 11 a.m. Friday, August 10, Officiating will be Pastor Geoffrey Hoy. Interment will be in the family plot at Chestnut Hill Cemetery. Members of the Dames, Travelers’ Club, Drift and Oasis book clubs are invited to be seated in a special section. Visitation: The family will receive friends at the church in Peeler Hall from 10 until 11 a.m. prior to the funeral service. Memorials: May be made to the Eva Bernhardt Bingham Endowment Fund, Rowan Public Library, 201 West Fisher Street, Salisbury, NC 28144. Summersett Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made at www.summersettfuneralhome.com.

Eva Nicholas Bernhardt Bingham

December 3, 1954 - August 6, 2018