MAGEE - EMMA WILKINSON (RICHARDSON) McALPIN, 91, a retired buyer for family-owned McAlpin's Department Store, died of cancer Tuesday at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson. Services are 2 p.m. today at Magee First Baptist Church with burial in Magee Cemetery. Visitation is from 7 a.m. until near service time at Mims Mitchell Funeral Home.

Mrs. McAlpin lived in a two-story -house surrounded by huge oaks. During every season but winter, flowers encircled the old oaks and overflowed into her yard. There were azaleas, tulips, daffodils. "She always had an innate good taste about what looked right. That's why she was so successful buying for the store," said daughter-in-law Ora Mae McAlpin of Magee.

Mrs. McAlpin, a Smith County native, lived in Magee most of her life. She and her late husband, E.T. McAlpin, founded McAlpin's Department Store, which drew customers from across mid-Mississippi. She was the buyer for the store's ladies' department - a job requiring travel to markets in Dallas, Chicago and New York City, said her daughter-in-law and assistant. The couple started McAlpin's during the Depression. Mrs. McAlpin's husband was a teacher and farmer. She was a homemaker. "He just decided he wasn't getting anywhere. They started in a small way and the store grew," said son Tom McAlpin of Magee. The McAlpins went from selling domestic material and cotton sacks to brand names such as Vanity Fair, the son said.

Mrs. McAlpin was a big reason for the store's success, though her husband, a civic leader, managed it well, her son said. She had a way with picking out fine ladies' clothes. "She was born with it," her son said. Mrs. McAlpin went to the best places to expand her talents. "She'd go to Italy and back and redecorate her house," the son said. The McAlpins sold their store during the early 1970s.

Mrs. McAlpin was a member of Magee First Baptist Church, where she was recognized many Mother's Days as the oldest mother present.

Other survivors include: son, L.J. "Jake" McAlpin of Sanatorium; daughter, Thelma Neely of Magee; brother, Thomas Richardson of Peterborough, N.H.; sisters, Terry Council of Magee and Annie Fortenberry of McComb; and six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Obituary by Toni Lepeska, Clarion-Ledger Obituary Writer, published in the Clarion-Ledger, 26 Oct 1989, Thu, Page 22.

Find A Grave Contributor: Faye Nations McCardle (47144920).