Edna Louise Hipps Hamrick
(September 23, 1917 - September 17, 2007)

Edna Hamrick co-founder of Hamrick's, Inc.
Gaffney, SC

Edna Hipps Hamrick, 89, of Cherokee Avenue, passed away on September 17, 2007 at her home in Gaffney, South Carolina. She was a native of Haywood County, North Carolina, and the daughter of the late Samuel W. Hipps and Winnie McCracken Hipps and wife of the late Oliver D. Hamrick. Mrs. Hamrick was co-founder of Hamrick's, Inc., a chain of twenty-one retail apparel stores located in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia. Mrs. Hamrick's work ethic is her legacy that will endure for generations to come. For sixty-six years she worked six days a week at the original Hamrick's store where she greeted and served thousands of customers. Due to failing health she was confined to her home for the past several months.She was a member of East Gaffney Baptist Church.

Mrs. Hamrick was the mother of the late Sue Hamrick Frye. She is survived by six children: Kelly Hamrick and his wife, Dora, Barry Hamrick and his wife, Judy, Jim Hamrick and his wife, Linda, Ann Hamrick Sossamon and her husband, Larry, Mike Hamrick and his wife, Rhonda and Dinah Hamrick. In recent years the youngest daughter, Dinah and a family friend, Linda Steele lovingly cared for Mrs. Hamrick in the home. She is also survived by fourteen grandchildren and twenty-three great-grandchildren. Two grandchildren and one great-grandchild preceded her in death. Mrs. Irene Greene, her sister, resides in Estill, South Carolina. Mrs. Hamrick's attendants in the home were Etta Jones, Janice Dawkins, Annie Byers, Veronica Wertz, Sandra Bolin, Pat Tate, and Tina Holder.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 PM on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at Blakely Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 PM on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at East Gaffney Baptist Church. The service will be conducted by Reverend Ron Jackson and Dr. Wayne Brown. Interment will be in Oakland Memorial Cemetery, College Drive, Gaffney, South Carolina. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to East Gaffney Baptist Church, Family Life Center Building Fund, 2308 Cherokee Avenue, Gaffney, South Carolina, 29340. The family will be at the residence. An online guest register is available at www.blakelyfuneralhome.com.

Blakely Funeral Home, Gaffney, SC