Eve Groton, an artist and designer, had an eye for carpet.
While others might have focused on the walls or window treatments, Mrs. Groton kept her sights firmly fixed on the floor.
“Where some people have perfect pitch, it was like my mom had perfect color, if you know what I mean,” said her daughter, Anna Skiles Muir, of Atlanta. “A client would bring her their fabrics, and she came up with the most amazing and perfect carpets.”
Eve Oxford Groton died Sept. 13, in her sleep of complications associated with having an enlarged heart, said her husband James “Jim” Groton, of Atlanta. She was 62. A memorial service was held Sept. 19 at the Cathedral of St. Philip. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Groton’s love of carpet led her to open Eve Inc., a boutique custom carpet studio, where she created designs for individual and corporate clients.
“Not only is there a hole in my heart, but there is a hole in my business, too,” said Jackye Lanham, of Jacquelynne P. Lanham Designs Inc. “Eve was a dear friend who provided a very unique service for me, and my clients, that cannot easily be replaced.”
Part of what made Mrs. Groton invaluable was her ability to create unique carpet designs combined with her one-of-a-kind personality, Mrs. Lanham said.
“There are those who are talented but lack personality,” she said. “And because of that, they don’t go far, or as far as they could. That was not Eve. She was successful because of her personality and her talent.”
Mr. Groton described his wife as “a woman of spirit.”
He said they met 11 years ago in an apple orchard. He had climbed an apple tree and was shaking it, trying to get the ripe fruit to fall.
“She hollered at me and said, ‘You get out of that tree, or I’m going to tell your mother on you,’” he said. “Her name was Eve and it was an apple orchard, it was all very serendipitous. From that moment on, I didn’t look at any other woman.”
Eve’s spirit was often on display, especially when she was around her three grandchildren, her daughter said. Mrs. Muir said her mother was known to play with her children in ways many grandparents would not.
“She’d get in the creek and get all muddy right along with them,” Mrs. Muir said through a laugh. “She’d come pick them up and every time they pulled out of the driveway, my husband and I just said a prayer. We knew everything would be OK, but we’d just say an extra prayer anyway.”
Mrs. Groton is also survived by two sisters.
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