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Bessie Davis McGraw, 92, of Garden City Beach, died Friday, May 15th at National Health Care after battling a massive stroke for eight months. A daughter of the late Sarah Florence Johnson and Samuel Charles Davis, she was born in the Jordanville section of Horry County on May 8, 1917. She was a graduate of Aynor High School, attended Columbia and Winthrop Colleges and was a graduate of the Dietetic School in Washington, DC. She worked at the Charleston Navy Yard during World War II, becoming a real Rosie the Riveter . She earned a First Class Machinist Badge as she learned to weld and to use an acetylene torch. She began her career in food services at the Villa Ambrose in Myrtle Beach and at Conway Elementary School. The years between 1947 and her retirement in 1980 were spent as the Dietitian and Food Service Administrator at Pfeiffer College in Misenheimer, NC and at hospitals in Gastonia, Kings Mountain, and Waynesville, N.C. She also traveled for three years for Zyobo Food Services, setting up new accounts in the area between Nashville, TN and Richmond, VA. After her retirement, she lived in Gastonia and in Roper, NC until her move to Garden City Beach in 1982. She was a loyal, life-long member of Methodist churches wherever she lived, usually working with the young people. She was currently one of the most-beloved members of Belin Memorial United Methodist Church in Murrells Inlet. Her prowess at cooking and gardening were legendary, with her sweet pickles always being best sellers at church bazaars. She was predeceased by her husband, Thurman McGraw, 4 brothers: Harry Davis, Leon Davis, Palmer Bill Davis, and Earl Davis, and 3 sisters: Pauline Davis, Lunette D. Floyd, and Reba D. Glasgow. She is survived by 2 sisters: Dena D. McGinn of Conway, and Mary Frances D. Hassell of Roper, NC as well as by numerous loving nieces, nephews, godchildren, and loyal friends. Services will be held 10:00 AM Wednesday at Belin Memorial United Methodist Church with the Rev. Mike Alexander officiating. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 PM Wednesday at Antioch United Methodist Church Cemetery directed by Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel. The family will receive friends after the service at the Family Life Center of Belin Memorial United Methodist Church. Memorials may be made to the Belin UMC Land Acquisition Fund at PO Box 528, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 or to the Antioch UMC Cemetery Fund at 5526 Antioch Rd., Conway, SC 29527. Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel is serving the family.

Tributes

Bessie Margaret McGraw

May 15, 2009