Mary Jo (Wilson) Braica

An angel on earth, Mary Jo Wilson Braica, 93, after a brief illness, went to be with her heavenly Father on February 7th, to be forever wrapped in His loving comfort and peace.

Mary Jo was born November 23, 1924 to Joseph Carl and Hazel Leah Clodfelter Wilson and was a  lifelong resident of High Point. She graduated from High Point High School in 1941, after which she completed a two-year secretarial and business course at High Point College. During this time, she met Benny Braica, a WWII soldier from Brooklyn, NY, at a dance held at the college, and they immediately fell in love. As soon as the war ended, they married in Myrtle Beach, SC, on June 14, 1945.

After living in New York for two years, Mary Jo and Benny returned to High Point and began building a home. In 1955, together they founded Suburban Construction Co, with Mary Jo serving as executive secretary and CFO. They operated their business until 1983, when they sold it and retired.

As well as her role in their business, Mary Jo also held a real estate license and was an official Notary. However, she always found time to act as grade mother at her three daughters’ schools, accompany them on field trips, and spent countless hours ferrying kids to various events. The ultimate caregiver, she attended to her widowed mother, her two elderly aunts, as well as her mother-in-law, sacrificing her time and energy to ensure their well-being. She was a talented seamstress and had an incredible knack for simple but elegant decorating and entertaining.  She embraced her children’s friends, and later their children, and always made them feel welcome in her home. Summer was her favorite time of year, and she loved sitting outside socializing with her “pool friends”. Until the recent decline of her eyesight, Mary Jo was an avid reader and pencil-puzzler and she loved poring over maps learning more about a place she had read about or seen on TV. She constantly stayed on top of current events and always knew most of the answers on Jeopardy! Mary Jo was a generous supporter of causes she felt worthy and was a faithful benefactor of Christ (formerly Crestwood) Presbyterian Church. Her three great-grandchildren were the delight of her life and kept her young in spirit until the very end.

Mary Jo was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Benny, and her brother Max Wilson and his wife Barbara. She is survived by a sister, Barbara (Wiley, deceased) Auman of Jamestown, and three daughters: Linda Braica,  Bonnie (Ed) White, and Sunny (Greg) Vitello, all of High Point. She is also survived by three grandchildren: Adrian (John) Greene of Archdale, Ryan (Kristin) White of Greenville, SC and Madeline (Ben) Lloyd of Charlotte; three great-grandchildren: Sophie Greene, Isaac Greene, and Emerson Lloyd, as well as several nieces, nephews, and her brother-in-law John Braica of High Point.

The family would also like to recognize two of her very special friends, Marilyn Helms and Jesse Derouin, both of whom she dearly cherished.

A celebration of life service will be held at 2:00 pm Sunday, February 11, 2018, at Cumby Family Funeral Service in High Point. The family will receive friends at the home immediately following.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to: St. Jude Children’s Hospital: stjude.org, Compassion & Choices: Compassionandchoices.org, or American Macular Degeneration Foundation: macular.org or the charity of your choice.

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