Eunice Lee Miller Brock

Eunice Lee Miller Brock passed away September 27, 2026 in Chapel Hill, her hometown of more than fifty-eight years.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Samuel Hays Magill; two sons, Clifton Michael Brock and Douglas Martin Brock and his wife Marcia Coit-Brock and their children, Alanna Ercelle Brock and Lilianne Eunice Brock. Her sweet daughter, Melinda Kellner Brock, died in 2010. Loving and caring Melinda was "the light of Eunice's heart" and her heart was forever darkened with sorrow and sadness after Melinda's death. Nevertheless, she continued trying her best to be a good wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She is also survived by her stepson, Samuel Magill, Jr., and husband Lucian Rinando; Katherine Magill Walters; Suzanne Magill Weintraub and her husband Daniel and their daughters Sophia and Phoebe. She is also survived by her brother Michael Miller and wife Mattie, of Memphis, Tennessee. She is also survived by ten nieces and nephews. She is pre-deceased by brothers Glenn Miller and Patrick Miller.

Eunice was born in Memphis, Tennessee, March 17,1930, and was the daughter of Glenn Lee Miller and Kellner Carter Miller. She grew up a tom boy, climbing trees, and building tree houses in which to read quietly. She would pelt her brother and others from her tree house with sweet gum balls shot from a sling shot she made. As a young girl she loved to sing and play the accordion. As her daughter would say, "She would sing or dance at the drop of a hat."

She graduated from Greenwood Mississippi High School, Mississippi State College for Women, and she received an M. S. from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She was married to Clifton Brock for many years, and they raised their family of three children in Chapel Hill. In 2006 she and Sam Magill were married in Chapel Hill, and were very happy together.

Eunice loved adventure travel all over the globe, from scuba diving in various locations, safaris in Africa, to hiking in Ecuador and Bavaria. After she and Sam were married they continued to travel extensively---many times with children and grandchildren. She often said to her granddaughters, "travel broadens your horizons".

She was a highly successful real estate broker in Chapel Hill for 37 years, and owned Eunice Brock and Associates, which she sold to Tony Hall and Associates in 2001. She was often called "the doyenne of Chapel Hill real estate."

She wrote a real estate column and other columns for the Chapel Hill News and participated in commentaries on WCHL for many years.

After she retired she published a book of poems and essays, her memoirs, and a book of her writings in the "My View" column of the Chapel Hill News. Her last column, written after the death of her daughter, was titled "The Face of Grief."

She took up ballroom dancing and participated in a number of dance showcases. She loved her birds and knew their calls, and had as many as 12 bird feeders at her house. She put up bluebird houses on Bolin Creek Trail, the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery and other places. She loved her dog and cats, and the ashes of her dear collie, Bonnie, will be interred with her. She had two outside koi ponds and an aquarium inside and always wanted to raise chickens and rabbits but never did. She was a serious lover of nature, and was constantly learning new things about what was happening in the animal and bird world.

She had an insatiable curiosity, enthusiasm and unflagging energy. She was hospitable, gracious, high-spirited, independent-minded, responsible, stubborn, and impatient. She believed in good manners, and never understood why people did not treat others as they would want to be treated. (Among her pet peeves were not writing "thank you" notes and responding in a timely manner to invitations and saying "thank you" when taken out to dinner. She believed you can never say "thank you" too many times for what others do for you.) Her genteel demeanor concealed a steely will. People found her inspirational and occasionally infuriating. Someone once said she was a hardheaded, soft-hearted woman, proud and headstrong "can't tame me, but I can be taught."

She enjoyed laughter, wit, and anyone with a sense of humor. She sought out creative and curiosity-seeking minds and never "suffered fools gladly." She was gracious, hospitable, high-spirited and had a persistent attitude.

Eunice was a community activist and would often show up at Town Hall meetings with a one-woman fight, or join others, against the "establishment." She was a life-long "yellow dog" Democrat. In 2011 she was designated a "Town Treasure" by the Town of Chapel Hill. In 2014 she was inducted into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame.

Her family and friends enjoyed her sense of humor, and she often laughed at herself- especially her malapropisms. For most people, women like Eunice do not come along every day, and a few might say, "thank goodness," as she did not mind ruffling feathers. She will be missed greatly by her family and friends, as well as many of the town citizens.

Eunice had many physical and emotional traumas in her life-the two most crushing ones were experiencing the loneliness following the death of her mother when she was sixteen and the heart-breaking death of her daughter, Melinda, in 2010.

She will be buried in a private ceremony in the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery next to her sweet daughter, Melinda. The foot marker on Melinda's grave says, "May your compassionate heart dwell within me until I hold you again. Mama." We all hope she and Melinda's hearts are now entwined and that they are holding each other again.

A memorial service will be held in the near future at Carol Woods Retirement Center after an announcement in the newspapers.

Expressions of condolence may be sent to her husband, Samuel Magill, at 750 Weaver Dairy Road, #6102, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, or Walkers Funeral Home, 11680 US 15-501 N, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516.

Gifts in memory of Eunice may be made to the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation for the Melinda Kellner Brock Terrace in Battle Park, CB# 3375, UNC@Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 or to the endowed scholarships in Melinda'a name at the School of Nursing and Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.