Grace G. Elledge

Dallas - Grace Moore Gilreath Elledge, age 101, Dallas, NC, made her crossing on April 29, 2009, at Gaston Memorial Hospital. One of four children, she was born October 14, 1907, to Judge Charles Gentry Gilreath, a lifelong attorney and Mayor of Wilkesboro, NC, and Mary Fidelia Moore Gilreath, who died of tuberculosis when Mrs. Elledge was seven. After high school, she attended Greensboro Women's College and graduated with honors in 1928, then earned her Masters of English at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was a charter member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Alpha Rho, Beta Zeta and Alpha Epsilon. After a few years of teaching, she returned to Chapel Hill for graduate studies and married Charles Cowles Elledge on December 16, 1933. During WW II, she accompanied her husband, CPO CC Elledge, to Norfolk, VA, and kept the books at JC Penny's while he served out his duty in the Navy. A forty year veteran of the NC Public School system, Mrs. Elledge taught high school English, French, Speech and Journalism and sponsored the student newspaper, the student council, and the school yearbook. In addition to her teaching career, she spent thirty-three summers performing in Horn in the West Outdoor Drama, portraying Lady Suret, Quaker Mother, and understudying Widder Howard. In addition to her years on the stage, she appeared in the 1974 feature film 'Hot Summer in Barefoot County' with her husband and daughter, Cherie. She also appeared in a TV commercial for Pioneer Chain Saws and at age 100, she made an appearance on NBC's Today Show in a Smucker's Jar tribute. She was a member of the Galbraith Clan of the Culcreuch Castle in Scotland, as well as a member and Real Granddaughter of the Robert E. Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. President of the NC Education Association in Rutherford County and the city of Marion, she also served for many years as President of the NC English Teacher's Association, editor of the NC English Teacher's Magazine, and editor of the student issue for thirty years. An avid reader, she was a lifelong member of the Dallas Readers Book Club and in her late 90s, she published a short story in Bryson City Tales. Mrs. Elledge served for ten years on the Gaston County Council for the Aging and showed them how to do it gracefully. She was the oldest living member of Dallas Baptist Church and a longtime Sunday school teacher. She was inducted into 'Who's Who Among American Women' and is listed in the British Biographical Dictionary. Among her many honors are The American Teacher of the Year Award and the 2009 Gaston County Schools Outstanding Contributor to Education Award. She is survived by her daughter Cherie Blanche Hamby Elledge-Grapes, her granddaughter Chloe Rose Grace Cherijon Charlie Elledge-Grapes, her nephew Dr. Charles Sidney Gilreath and wife Lelia Cooper Gilreath of Elkin, NC, and sister-in-law Eloise Williams Gilreath of Charlotte, NC. A memorial service in celebration of her life will be held on Mother's Day, May 10 at 2 pm at Dallas Baptist Church. The Rev. Jack Bryant of Middlesex, NC, Rev. Barron Lee of Dallas, NC, and Rev. Gil Ott of Brooklyn, NY, will be officiating. Memorials may be made to the Charles Elledge Scholarship Fund, c/o Executive Director WCC Endowment Corporation, Wilkes Community College, PO Box 120 1328 S. Collegiate Dr., Wilkesboro, NC, 28697. Withers and Whisenant Funeral Home 2916 Union Rd. Gastonia 704-864-5144 will be serving the family.Condolences may be made to the family at www.withersandwhisenantfuneral.com