Meta Loftin Obituary

Meta Williamson Paulling Loftin

Feb 8, 1929 - Mar 18, 2026

Meta Williamson Paulling Loftin passed away peacefully at home on March 18, 2026, at the age of 97. Meta was born on February 8, 1929, to Treutlen Dudley Paulling and Margaret James Paulling at Fairview, her maternal grandparents' home. The family remained at Fairview until Meta was three years old and then moved into town, Darlington, S.C,, where the family welcomed Mary Murray Paulling (Bennett) in September 1933.

Meta grew up in Darlington, surviving polio when she was in first grade. The family spent much time outdoors together at Damon Gun Club, especially the annual Thanksgiving Celebration – a large group of family and friends (hundreds of folks) gathering outdoors in front of the cabin to share a potluck meal including wild game, seafood, and Low Country delicacies. Meta returned to her beloved South Carolina and Damon for Thanksgiving 2025, following John's death In October.

The family worshiped at Darlington Presbyterian Church and Meta graduated from St. John's High School. Meta attended Queens College for two years, studying music, before transferring to the University of South Carolina where she graduated with a business degree in 1950. Meta returned to Darlington when she accepted a position with Sonoco Paper Products in Hartsville, South Carolina, where she worked for ten years. She resumed her involvement with Darlington Presbyterian Church, serving in the music ministry as a choir member and soloist, girls choir director, and even filling in as pianist and organist when needed.

Meta met John Rufus Loftin on a blind date, and they were married on September 16, 1961. As newlyweds, they moved to Chicago, Ill., where their son, Jay, was born. John and Meta settled in Winston-Salem, N.C. in July 1963. There they welcomed daughters, Margaret and Mary Anne, and raised their family in the home they lovingly built and lived in for 59 years, until their deaths.

John and Meta were first members at Mount Tabor Methodist Church and then First Presbyterian Church, where they took part in the Eagle's Wings Sunday School Class, hosting the Annual Potluck in their backyard for years until the pandemic. They were also involved in Prime Timers and serving Wednesday Night Dinners. While the children attended St. John's Lutheran Day School, Meta organized home-cooked holiday meals for the faculty and staff while the children enjoyed McDonald's. Mom was always involved in her community, usually feeding people!

For years, Meta bowled in a Monday morning league that supported Amos Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital. She was a long-time member of The Old Salem Garden Club and enjoyed a second career in retail at The Youth Center when the children left for college. Meta enjoyed the Carolina coastline, growing up and raising her children at Pawley's Island and later, her grandchildren at Sunset Beach.

Meta and John's generosity and care for others defined Southern Hospitality to so many of our family and friends – chili on snow days, hot chocolate and Krispy Kreme doughnuts after Christmas caroling in the neighborhood, gatherings after Reynolds football games, all of the meals served before and after proms and graduations, Wake Forest and Salem College students who needed a home away from home, and the traditional post-wedding brunches on Sunday mornings before the out of town guests left. These experiences had loved ones returning long after we children left home. Rarely did one leave without something to eat. To honor her memory, we have included the recipe for her signature pound cake.

1 - cup butter - to room temperature

1 - 8oz pkg. cream cheese

3 - cups sugar

6 - lrg. eggs

3 - cups sifted caked flower

1 - heaping teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 - heaping teaspoon almond flavoring

Cream butter & cream cheese, gradually add sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add eggs - one at a time - beating about 30 seconds per egg. Add flour & flavorings, mixing well. Pour batter into well greased and floured Bundt (or tube) pan. Place in cold oven. Set oven @ 325 degrees for 1 hr. 10 mins. Cool before removing from pan. *Hint - place a Pyrex pitcher with 1-1 1/2 cups of water in back of oven - helps keep cake moist & helps it rise. Cook cake on one of the lower oven racks.

Meta was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 64 years, John, her parents, an infant brother, and her sister, as well as an infant great-granddaughter. She leaves behind a son, Jay (Joni); and daughters, Margaret (Dan) and Mary Anne; ten grandchildren, Rachel (Ryan) Anderson, Cara Loftin, Walt Williams, Noah (Payton) Williams, Anna (Langston) Herb, Martha (Michael) Skinner, and Cameron Williams, Harrison (Hope) White, Meta Kate (Jay) Dixon, and Hadley White; and four great-grandchildren, Walker and Watson White, Marlee Anderson, and Georgia Williams.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 27, 2026, at First Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers or planting a tree, the family requests you consider memorials to the John R. Loftin Scholarship at Members Credit Union, 2098 Frontis Plaza Blvd Suite A, Winston-Salem, NC 27103, Darlington Presbyterian Church, 311 Pearl St., Darlington, SC 29532, or First Presbyterian Church of Winston-Salem, 300 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Condolences may be made online at www.salemfh.com.

Salem Funerals & Cremations

120. S. Main St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101