Mrs. McElroy, 86, departed to be with her Lord Jesus Christ on Saturday, October 14, 2006. She died peacefully with her children by her side.
She was born May 20, 1920 to Morrow and Frank Graham in the family home on Park Road and was raised there on her father's dairy farm. Except for brief periods in the early 1940s, she lived her entire life within a short distance of where she grew up.
She attended Central High School, Columbia Bible College, and Queens College. While at Columbia Bible College, she met Sam McElroy of Huntersville when he visited for a weekend conference. After he entered the army, they eloped on April 16, 1942 while Sam was on a three-day leave, and were married 58 years.
During World War II, they lived in Ft. Riley, Kansas and then Hyde Park, New York where Sam served with a unit guarding President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The time in Hyde Park, which included a Christmas dinner with the Roosevelts, remained a highlight of happy memories for the rest of her life. After the war, the couple settled permanently back in Charlotte and raised a family. Their children and grandchildren consider the relationship that grew between Catherine and Sam as the model of a love-filled marriage.
Catherine was a Southern lady in every aspect of relating to other people. She was known for the hospitality of her home, for the way she entertained guests, for her sense of humor, and for her extraordinary memory. She had a gift for listening and used that gift to become an encourager to many people throughout her life, right to the end.
In her final years, she received loving care from many staff members at Sardis Oaks Nursing Home, where she continued to make it her active ministry to listen and encourage.
She was the granddaughter of two Civil War soldiers, one from Steele Creek who lost an eye and a leg at Gettysburg, the other whose log cabin home is preserved on the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Ft. Mill. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a charter member of Calvary Church.
Her husband Sam and her brother Melvin preceded her in death. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, John and Ann McElroy; daughter and son-in-law, Cathie and Tom Bowers; brother, Rev. Billy Graham; sister, Jean (Mrs. Leighton) Ford; grandchildren, Jeff and Terri McElroy, Kristi and Randy Lankford, Jamie and Lolly Bowers; five great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services will be at First Baptist Church, Wednesday October 18 at 2 PM, led by Rev. Mark Harris and Rev. Bill Harding. The family will receive guests at the church following the service. Burial is private for the family. Honorary pall bearers will be Deryl Graham, Mel Graham, Kevin Ford, Doug McElroy, Franklin Graham and Ned Graham.
Memorials may be sent to Glad Tiddings, Inc. PO Box 18824, Charlotte, NC 28218-0824, or Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201, or First Baptist Church, 301 S. Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.
She was born May 20, 1920 to Morrow and Frank Graham in the family home on Park Road and was raised there on her father's dairy farm. Except for brief periods in the early 1940s, she lived her entire life within a short distance of where she grew up.
She attended Central High School, Columbia Bible College, and Queens College. While at Columbia Bible College, she met Sam McElroy of Huntersville when he visited for a weekend conference. After he entered the army, they eloped on April 16, 1942 while Sam was on a three-day leave, and were married 58 years.
During World War II, they lived in Ft. Riley, Kansas and then Hyde Park, New York where Sam served with a unit guarding President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The time in Hyde Park, which included a Christmas dinner with the Roosevelts, remained a highlight of happy memories for the rest of her life. After the war, the couple settled permanently back in Charlotte and raised a family. Their children and grandchildren consider the relationship that grew between Catherine and Sam as the model of a love-filled marriage.
Catherine was a Southern lady in every aspect of relating to other people. She was known for the hospitality of her home, for the way she entertained guests, for her sense of humor, and for her extraordinary memory. She had a gift for listening and used that gift to become an encourager to many people throughout her life, right to the end.
In her final years, she received loving care from many staff members at Sardis Oaks Nursing Home, where she continued to make it her active ministry to listen and encourage.
She was the granddaughter of two Civil War soldiers, one from Steele Creek who lost an eye and a leg at Gettysburg, the other whose log cabin home is preserved on the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Ft. Mill. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a charter member of Calvary Church.
Her husband Sam and her brother Melvin preceded her in death. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, John and Ann McElroy; daughter and son-in-law, Cathie and Tom Bowers; brother, Rev. Billy Graham; sister, Jean (Mrs. Leighton) Ford; grandchildren, Jeff and Terri McElroy, Kristi and Randy Lankford, Jamie and Lolly Bowers; five great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services will be at First Baptist Church, Wednesday October 18 at 2 PM, led by Rev. Mark Harris and Rev. Bill Harding. The family will receive guests at the church following the service. Burial is private for the family. Honorary pall bearers will be Deryl Graham, Mel Graham, Kevin Ford, Doug McElroy, Franklin Graham and Ned Graham.
Memorials may be sent to Glad Tiddings, Inc. PO Box 18824, Charlotte, NC 28218-0824, or Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201, or First Baptist Church, 301 S. Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.
Mrs. McElroy, 86, departed to be with her Lord Jesus Christ on Saturday, October 14, 2006. She died peacefully with her children by her side.
She was born May 20, 1920 to Morrow and Frank Graham in the family home on Park Road and was raised there on her father's dairy farm. Except for brief periods in the early 1940s, she lived her entire life within a short distance of where she grew up.
She attended Central High School, Columbia Bible College, and Queens College. While at Columbia Bible College, she met Sam McElroy of Huntersville when he visited for a weekend conference. After he entered the army, they eloped on April 16, 1942 while Sam was on a three-day leave, and were married 58 years.
During World War II, they lived in Ft. Riley, Kansas and then Hyde Park, New York where Sam served with a unit guarding President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The time in Hyde Park, which included a Christmas dinner with the Roosevelts, remained a highlight of happy memories for the rest of her life. After the war, the couple settled permanently back in Charlotte and raised a family. Their children and grandchildren consider the relationship that grew between Catherine and Sam as the model of a love-filled marriage.
Catherine was a Southern lady in every aspect of relating to other people. She was known for the hospitality of her home, for the way she entertained guests, for her sense of humor, and for her extraordinary memory. She had a gift for listening and used that gift to become an encourager to many people throughout her life, right to the end.
In her final years, she received loving care from many staff members at Sardis Oaks Nursing Home, where she continued to make it her active ministry to listen and encourage.
She was the granddaughter of two Civil War soldiers, one from Steele Creek who lost an eye and a leg at Gettysburg, the other whose log cabin home is preserved on the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Ft. Mill. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a charter member of Calvary Church.
Her husband Sam and her brother Melvin preceded her in death. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, John and Ann McElroy; daughter and son-in-law, Cathie and Tom Bowers; brother, Rev. Billy Graham; sister, Jean (Mrs. Leighton) Ford; grandchildren, Jeff and Terri McElroy, Kristi and Randy Lankford, Jamie and Lolly Bowers; five great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services will be at First Baptist Church, Wednesday October 18 at 2 PM, led by Rev. Mark Harris and Rev. Bill Harding. The family will receive guests at the church following the service. Burial is private for the family. Honorary pall bearers will be Deryl Graham, Mel Graham, Kevin Ford, Doug McElroy, Franklin Graham and Ned Graham.
Memorials may be sent to Glad Tiddings, Inc. PO Box 18824, Charlotte, NC 28218-0824, or Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201, or First Baptist Church, 301 S. Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.
She was born May 20, 1920 to Morrow and Frank Graham in the family home on Park Road and was raised there on her father's dairy farm. Except for brief periods in the early 1940s, she lived her entire life within a short distance of where she grew up.
She attended Central High School, Columbia Bible College, and Queens College. While at Columbia Bible College, she met Sam McElroy of Huntersville when he visited for a weekend conference. After he entered the army, they eloped on April 16, 1942 while Sam was on a three-day leave, and were married 58 years.
During World War II, they lived in Ft. Riley, Kansas and then Hyde Park, New York where Sam served with a unit guarding President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The time in Hyde Park, which included a Christmas dinner with the Roosevelts, remained a highlight of happy memories for the rest of her life. After the war, the couple settled permanently back in Charlotte and raised a family. Their children and grandchildren consider the relationship that grew between Catherine and Sam as the model of a love-filled marriage.
Catherine was a Southern lady in every aspect of relating to other people. She was known for the hospitality of her home, for the way she entertained guests, for her sense of humor, and for her extraordinary memory. She had a gift for listening and used that gift to become an encourager to many people throughout her life, right to the end.
In her final years, she received loving care from many staff members at Sardis Oaks Nursing Home, where she continued to make it her active ministry to listen and encourage.
She was the granddaughter of two Civil War soldiers, one from Steele Creek who lost an eye and a leg at Gettysburg, the other whose log cabin home is preserved on the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Ft. Mill. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a charter member of Calvary Church.
Her husband Sam and her brother Melvin preceded her in death. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, John and Ann McElroy; daughter and son-in-law, Cathie and Tom Bowers; brother, Rev. Billy Graham; sister, Jean (Mrs. Leighton) Ford; grandchildren, Jeff and Terri McElroy, Kristi and Randy Lankford, Jamie and Lolly Bowers; five great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services will be at First Baptist Church, Wednesday October 18 at 2 PM, led by Rev. Mark Harris and Rev. Bill Harding. The family will receive guests at the church following the service. Burial is private for the family. Honorary pall bearers will be Deryl Graham, Mel Graham, Kevin Ford, Doug McElroy, Franklin Graham and Ned Graham.
Memorials may be sent to Glad Tiddings, Inc. PO Box 18824, Charlotte, NC 28218-0824, or Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201, or First Baptist Church, 301 S. Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.
