Louise Grantham, 96, born Dec. 17, 1913 in the Vernant Park Community southwest of Foley, died Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 after a battle with cancer.
She spent her life devoted to two things: her faith and her family.
She was the daughter of Henry Thomas Styron and Ethel Josephine Carver Styron, the eldest of 12 children.
She grew up in the bon Secour community, but spent her adult years in Magnolia Springs and Foley. The church and the school were the center of the family’s social lives, she later recalled.
She entered first grade at Swift School in 1920, the year it opened. She loved to read, received good grades and always endeavored to be at the top of her class. She also walked two or three miles through the woods with her cousins to attend church — they had nearly perfect attendance.
While she took few vacations as a youngster, when she was 16 she took a trip by boat to New York City with her aunt and uncle. After a near-miss with another boat in the fog, they landed safely and enjoyed three days in the city which began her love for travel and adventure, a love that stayed with her all her life. She looked forward to her family’s semi-annual reunions — held all around the country — and was always ready to take a trip with her children or grandchildren.
She first spotted W.B. “Burruss” Grantham at a Valentine’s Day dance in 1930. He left his date at the dance and took her home instead. They were married on Feb. 20, 1931. Together, the two of them ran the family farm while raising five children.
She worked side-by-side with her husband on the family farm through tough economic times, including the Depression. The farm was self-sufficient so they elected to have the government-issued butter, flour and cheese go to other deserving families, a fact that she was very proud of. Life wasn’t always easy — they lost the farm once, but wer able to sell enough collard greens to get it back — but through perserverance, faith and hard work they got through those times.
In 1962, they sold the farm and in 1964 she took a job at Mr. Faulk’s restaurant in order to have spending money for her girls. She later worked at Wright’s Drugs, Red and White Grocery and Reynolds Ace Hardware. In 1970, she took a position as a salad maker at South Baldwin Hospital, eventually becoming assistant dietician, a job that required her to go to work at 4:45 a.m. each morning to plan daily meals for the patients. She retired from that position 14 years later at the age of 82.
She spent her retirement traveling with and enjoying her children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who affectionately referred to her as “Granny.” She was a loving grandmother, but also not afraid to speak her mind — a trait that anyone who spent time around her know. She held herself to very high standards and expected those around her to do the same.
In a book she and her daughter Marge wrote together just before her 90th birthday, she advised her family and friends to “always be honest, fair, dependable and hardworking. Anyone who has these characteristics will never have to worry about work. You will always be able to get a job.”
She also added, “Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be a hugger — be openly affectionate to your family. Tell your children that you love them.”
She was surrounded by her family members at the time of her death, a tribute to the love she shared with them.
She was preceded in death by her husband, W.B “Burruss” Grantham, her parents, Henry and Ethel Styron; six brothers, James “Dooley” Styron, Lonnie “Tiny” Styron, Lloyd Styron, Ralph Styron, Raymond Styron and Jerald Styron; sister, Lorna Styron; son, Robert B. Grantham; one grandson, Aaron Grantham; three daughters-in-law, Maureen Grantham, Millie Grantham and Carolyn Grantham.
Survivors include three brothers, Theo (Marie) Styron, Sam (Sharon) Styron and Calvert “Sonny” (Shirley) Styron; sister, Lavetta McBride; sisters-in-law, Louise Styron and Elizabeth Styron Whitaker; two sons, Walter “Glen” (Sarah) Grantham and James “Vern” Grantham; two daughters, Elsie (Estel) Sprague and Marge (Norm) Moore; daughter-in-law, Charlotte Grantham; 11 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, four great-great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10 at Pine Rest Funeral Home in Foley. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 at Magnolia Springs Wesleyan Church.
The family requests memorial donations be made to Magnolia Springs Wesleyan Church, 12233 Magnolia Springs Highway, Magnolia Springs, AL 36555 or South Baldwin Education Foundation, P.O. Box 1600, Foley, AL 36536.
Arrangements are by Pine Rest Funeral Home Inc., Foley.
