Ernestine Ishee Graham

Ernestine Ishee “Teeny” Graham nurturer, friend, mother, lover of family, flowers, and her Lord passed on to her heavenly home on February 25, 2014. Her 95 years were filled with good health, good friends, and an abundance of love. Born to Cassandra Almedia Hosey and Judson J. Ishee in Jasper County on January 17, 1919, she attended school in Mossville and excelled at basketball. Times being what they were, though she was offered a college scholarship, college basketball was not in the cards, but life with her eight brothers and sisters was never dull. Only two of those siblings have survived her: J. Ishee of Clinton and Bonnie Grantham of Stringer. Teeny married Farish F. “Stick” Graham at the age of 28, and life with him afforded her the opportunity to live from California to Florida and many points in between. She was a woman born to be a mother, and her children Stan and Susan, were blessed to grow up in a household that she filled with flowers, love, laughter, and delicious food. Her children were known to say that she must have served as the inspiration for television moms like June Cleaver. Teeny taught her children the value of integrity, kindness, faith, and devotion. She taught them how to be strong people of good character. Teeny also knew how to be silly and have fun, and that made her a wonderful grandmother. She loved to wrestle on the bed or the floor with her granddaughter Meredith, and years later, at the age of ninety, she was quick to challenge Graham, her grandson, to multiple matches of arm wrestling. She was truly like no one else we’ve ever known. She loved the Food Channel, Days of Our Lives, people who were comfortable being themselves, home baked carrot cake, long phone conversations, her blue ribbon winning State Fair Fern (won because a neighbor not only talked her into it, but entered it for her), a sparkling clean house, and freshly baked corn bread. The ladies in her Sunday School class at Daniel Memorial Baptist Church in Jackson, MS became life long friends, and being with them meant so much to her. People like Helen, Gladys, Era, and Ailene were true friends and we learned so much about them over the years. Mother loved spending time with each and every one of those ladies. They agreed there was no place they could be “promoted” to from their Sunday School Class other than heaven. As she began to need a little more help managing things, she accepted the offer to move to Hattiesburg into a cottage designed and renovated especially for her. Stan’s wife Margaret proved the master of finish painting when she was given the task of painting the trim throughout the cottage. Since 2008, that little yellow cottage with the red door was her home, and it put her just steps away from her daughter, grandchildren and the son-in-law who she said never felt like an in-law, Jeff Kresge. Teeny was ever ready to stroll through the flowers or sit under the umbrella and sing delightfully off-key songs with her daughter. The noise they made was joyful! We are confident that her heavenly life will be filled with love and joy as she is reunited with her husband, her parents, her siblings, Hascal, Agnes, Myrtis, Myrtle, E. J., Bobbie, and her beloved niece Patricia. She will always be with us, her family, and our lives are better, fuller, and richer for having lived with her and loved her for so many years. We celebrate the life of Teeny Graham! Services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 2014, at Memory Chapel with burial to follow at Matthews Cemetery. Dr. Jimmy Dobson will officiate. Visitation will be held from 12:30 p.m. until service time on Saturday. Memory Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. To view and sign the family guest book, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.

Ernestine Ishee Graham

January 17, 1919 - February 25, 2014