Hilda Maurine Graham

Hilda Maurine Graham passed peacefully in her sleep on a sunny Friday afternoon, September 19, 2025, surrounded by her family at her home at the age of 88 following a short illness.  

Hilda was born on May 16, 1937, in Montalba, TX.  She attended local primary schools, followed by Cayuga High School.   In 1955, Hilda would marry the love of her life, Gerald Graham, in Anderson County, TX.  This was the beginning of a journey that would last for the next 70 years, until Gerald passed in July, 2025.  After they wed, she worked odd jobs as Gerald’s work painting oil storage tanks and refineries took them to many towns across west Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana.  In 1959, they would return to Anderson County to settle down and start a family.  In 1970, she would start working for the United States Postal Service part time at the Montalba Post office.  She would later work full time at the Montalba and Palestine post offices.  After 17 years with the USPS, she was selected as the Postmaster of the Montalba Post Office in 1988.  She served as Postmaster until her retirement in 2000.  One of her many gifts could best be described as a master crafter.  Whether it was sewing school shirts for her boys, hand piecing and sewing a quilt, crocheting an afghan, or designing clothes for Barbie dolls, there were many recipients of these gifts over the years.  Later in life she became an avid genealogist, spending hours studying historical documents and records to uncover her family lineage.  She was a devoted member of Friendship Baptist Church, serving in many positions over the years.  Even when she couldn’t travel to church anymore, she listened to the sermons on her phone and mailed weekly church bulletins to shut-ins so they could stay connected to the church as well.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Gerald Graham; father, Robert Lewis Kimbrough; mother, Mabel Wardell Schitoskey; brother, Luther Fred Schitoskey; sister, Linda Gayle Kimbrough McDowell; sister, Grace Kimbrough Madewell;, sister Becky Kimbrough Magee; sister, Shirley Schitoskey Whitwell;  nephew, Fred Craig Schitoskey; nieces, Laurie Ann Schitoskey and Rena Madewell French.  She is survived by her three sons; Rodger and his wife Susan of Jacksonville, TX; Roy Gerald Graham and his wife Judi of South Carolina; and Charles and his wife Heather of Ardmore, OK,; her brother, Jackie Kimbrough of Palestine, TX; grandchildren: Joshua, Christy, Rodger, Jr., John, Weston, William, Walter, Hannah, and Hailey; great-grandchildren: Dakota and Kaitlyn, and great-great-grandchildren: Elliott, Hagen, and Greyson.

Pallbearers honoring Hilda are her grandsons: Joshua, Rodger, Jr., John, Weston, William, and Walter Graham.

A time of visitation will be held on Thursday, September 25th at 10:00 A.M. at Friendship Baptist Church.  Funeral services will follow at 11:00 A.M. with Duane Neel and Lynn Stroud officiating. The burial will follow immediately after at Rock Church Cemetery, under the direction of Bailey and Foster Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Friendship Baptist Church Maine Mission Fund, 7220 FM 860, Montalba, TX 75853; Rock Church Cemetery, P.O. Box 106, Montalba, TX 75853; or a charity of your choice.