Lula Mae Soles Grainger: Loris

    Lula Mae Soles Grainger of Loris went to be with the Lord on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Loris Extended Care Facility following an illness. She was 84.
    Mrs. Grainger was born in Tabor City on Oct. 29, 1928 to the late Mr. and Mrs. Solan Soles.
    After Tabor City High School, Mrs. Grainger attended Conway School of Practical Nursing, graduating with honors in 1963. Mrs. Grainger retired from the Loris Extended Care Facility in 2001, concluding 36 years of faithful service.
    Mrs. Grainger’s character and reputation exhibited a spirit of love, compassion, giving, kindness and sharing with all who knew her. She was deeply devoted to her family and friends as well as the patients she attended throughout her career.
     Mrs. Grainger was a devoted wife and mother, as well as a wonderful friend, always willing to help anyone in a time of need. She devoted much of her time to her beloved husband, Reverend Eldon Grainger; she attended revival meetings, visited with him in many homes and hospitals of sick church members and friends.
    In Loris, she was affectionately referred to as “Mrs. Lula Mae,” as she was so well known by many for her dedication to her friends and especially the Loris Extended Care Facility, which she often referred to as her “home away from home.”
     Her motto always was to “treat others as you would like to be treated,” just as we are commanded to in the Bible. “Mrs. Lula Mae” considered caring for the elderly at the nursing facility a “ministry” for her in many ways. She often shared the message of the Lord Jesus Christ with anyone who seemed troubled or asked for spiritual guidance. It was not unusual to see her sit by the bedside with one of her dying patients or spend time after her shift with grieving family members. She was very well known and respected by the physicians and nurses with whom she worked in Loris, especially for the exceptional care she always provided.
    Mrs. Grainger was a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Loris for 61 years.
    Survivors include her three daughters, Wilma Grainger Day and husband, Kenneth of Fayetteville, Lounette Grainger Floyd of Mt. Pleasant, and Rachel G. Bullard and husband, Joseph of Loris; three grandsons: Darren Lanier of Loris, Brian Bullard of Green Sea, and Walt Floyd, III of Longs; three granddaughters: Ginger Cottingham of Anderson, Regina Lanier of Loris, and Stephanie Bullard of Florence; seven great grandchildren: Hannah Lanier, Morgan and John Kyle Cottingham, Ben, Matt, and Kate Bullard and Allie Floyd; two sisters, Kathleen Jernigan of Nichols,  and Betty Butler of Effingham.
    Mrs. Grainger was predeceased by her husband, Reverend Eldon Grainger, her son, George Dwight Grainger, and daughter, Roberta Grainger Swasko.
    The family was to receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8, at Hardwick Funeral Home in Loris.
    Funeral services were planned for 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Pastor David Watts, Reverend Alvin Jackson and Rev. Marcus Fowler will officiate services.
    Memorials may be made to Mt. Zion Baptist Church Building Fund, 2610 Mt. Zion Road, Loris, SC 29569.
    Sign a guestbook at hardwickfh.com.