Emma I. Gragg

Emma (Emmy) Irene Pauline Winkler Gragg, 97, of Trenton, SC was born on September 4, 1926 and passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on July 3, 2024. The family will receive visitors at Shellhouse Funeral Home, Inc, 924 Hayne Ave SW, Aiken, SC on Monday, July 8, 2024 at 10:00 AM with funeral service immediately following at 11:00 AM. The burial will follow the funeral service at Bellevue Memorial Gardens at 4501 Wrightsboro Rd, Grovetown, GA.  The funeral service will be livestreamed and able to view by visiting https://iframe.dacast.com/b/156599/c/585060.

Pallbearers will be Larry Woods, Bubba Woods, Hunter Temples, Wayne (Bud) Rice, Josh Smith, and Mark Warren.

Emmy was born in Frankfurt, Germany where she was orphaned at a young age and was then reared by her grandparents, Oma and Opa Winkler. Emmy grew up in Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler and was forced to attend one of the Hitler Youth Camps. Shortly after World War II ended, she met and fell in love with James W Gragg, an American stationed in Germany. They were married in 1947 in Germany and had their first child, Irene Gragg Warren, before moving back to the United States in 1949. 

Emmy was always devoted to her family and serving others. She spent most of her adult life working as a para-professional, teaching children in both Germany and the US. After retiring from the school system, she continued serving others by participating in Meals on Wheels for seven years and spending more than two decades in the Hospital Auxiliary volunteer program where she was recognized as the most senior member when she was 92 years old. Emmy’s strong faith in the Lord led her to serve in many capacities in her local church including teaching children’s classes, directing VBS and singing in the choir. She has been an active member of Cornerstone Baptist church in Aiken, SC for over 20 years. In her spare time, Emmy loved to crochet baby blankets and hats which were distributed to newborns at local hospitals and sent to Chimala Mission Hospital in Tanzania, East Africa. There were hundreds of little African babies who were blessed by receiving her blankets and hats.

Emmy was survived by her six children, Irene Warren of Taylorsville, NC, Diane Rice (Wayne) of Trenton, SC, James W Gragg (Cynthia) of Larue, TX, Debra Solesbee (Kenneth) of Trenton, SC, Michael Gragg (Karen) of Crane Hill, AL and Denise Sloan (Colin) of St Louis, MO. She is also survived by 19 grandkids, 29 great grandkids and 4 great-great grandkids. She was preceded in death by her husband of 37 years, James W. Gragg and one great granddaughter. 

 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cornerstone Baptist Church, 100 Cornerstone Dr, Aiken, SC 29801, The Alzheimer's Association, or her hospice provider, Amedisys Foundation, 3854 American Way, Suite A, Baton Rouge, LA 70816

SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC