Norma Marie Shook Grahl

Ms. Norma Marie Shook Grahl, aka Nanny, 85, of Easley, SC made her journey to her eternal home on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. She was of the Methodist faith and her home church was Dunean Methodist Church and an active member of Ray’s Church in Georgia. 

She was born 3 months premature at St. Francis Hospital just before Thanksgiving in 1939 to her parents Pauline Phillips Shook and Paul Wesley Shook. Her mother, Pauline, passed away one week after her birth. When she was about 5 years old, her father introduced her to who would become her bonus mother, Laura McWhite Shook, who loved her, raised and nurtured her alongside Paul. She was richly blessed with so much love. Along with her parents, she was predeceased by her brother, Charles “Chuck” W. Shook.

She is survived by her daughter, Laura ”Lori” Grahl Vance (Alan) of the Wren Community, Piedmont, SC and her son, W. Christopher ”Chris” Grahl (Tina) of Statham, GA; her beloved grandchildren, Erin Holland (Jamie), Ashlee Owens (Todd), Jordan Bray (Austin), Anna Grace Childs (Clayton), Grant Grahl, Sydney Howell, and Dustin Vance; and her cherished Great-Grandchildren, Rylee Gurule and Grady Holland. She also leaves behind her sisters Nancy Shook Hargrove (Sonny) and Anita Shook Johnson (David). 

A Celebration of Life will be held at Robinson Funeral Home - Powdersville Road, 1425 Powdersville Road, Easley, South Carolina 29642, on Monday, March 10, 2025 with visitation from 11:30 AM  – 12:45 PM. The service to celebrate Norma's life will follow the visitation at 1:00 PM in the funeral home chapel. Burial will follow the service in Graceland Cemetery - West, 4814 White Horse Road, Greenville, South Carolina 29611.

She grew up in the Dunean Mill Village of Greenville and truly treasured her “Mill Hill” roots. She attended Carolina High School where she was one of the original creators of the Young Life Club in the state of South Carolina, enjoyed cheerleading, and many academic societies and clubs. Norma was awarded several academic awards and in 1958 she was awarded Salutatorian of her senior class, although she maintained the highest GPA of all students and because women could not hold the Valedictorian honor.

After school, Norma started her career as a legal secretary. In 1972, she received her South Carolina Real Estate license, where she worked as a Broker /Realtor for 40 years. She was one of the first licensed women realtors in the Greenville/Anderson area and an esteemed member of the Greenville Board Of Realtors. She was the owner of Grahl Realty in Powdersville where she worked alongside other founding builders, realtors and mortgagers from the Powdersville Community. In the early 2000s she moved to Georgia where she continued to work in Real Estate with Meridian Homes. She loved music and singing in the choir at Ray’s Church. She enjoyed volunteering at Mercy Health Center, Athens, Georgia. She continued to serve her spiritual community in Georgia until her retirement and moving back to Easley, SC. 

This all contributed to her strong desire to succeed with drive and passion as she built her life. Throughout her life she faced many joys, sorrows, challenges and obstacles, however her mantra and favorite quote was, “If it is meant to be, it is up to me!”

That ‘Can Do’ attitude and diligent effort paved the way for other women in the professional world.

Finally, in her younger years she wasn’t a big sports fan, however she grew to love baseball and of course football! She loved her Georgia Bulldogs and Clemson Tigers... as long as they weren’t playing Georgia. She loved animals, her pets were family. During her illness and final days, her beloved Bailey never left her side.

In lieu of flowers, if you would like to make a charitable contribution in her name, you can donate to either Hospice of The Upstate or Pickens County Humane Society.

Visit RobinsonFuneralHomes.com or Robinson Funeral Home & Crematory - Powdersville Road, Easley.