Alice Barbara (Aemisegger) Graham

Alice Barbara Graham passed away quietly at Medicalodges in Butler, Missouri, on May 11, 2021, at the age of 100 years, 7 months, and 27 days.  Alice was born on September 14, 1920, in Rapid City, Michigan to Otto and Laura Aemisegger.  At the age of two, she moved with her family to Bourbon, Missouri, where the family eventually grew to include eight children: Alice, four sisters, and three brothers.

In 1941, Alice was married to Arthur E. Pursley in Sullivan, Missouri.  Soon thereafter, the young couple moved to Steelville, Missouri, where Arthur owned a Western Auto Store and numerous other businesses over the years.  Alice and Arthur had four children, Carol, Sharon, John, and Jo Ellen.  During those years, Alice was a busy homemaker and mother, with a tremendous passion for gardening.  After Arthur died unexpectedly in 1964, Alice continued to maintain the home for herself and her children.  In 1974, she married Sam Graham, who died a few years later.

Alice continued to live in the family home in Steelville after the death of her second husband until it was no longer safe for her to live by herself.  She was active in the community, serving for years as a 4-H project leader, a Cub Scout den mother, and a leader in beautifying the city parks.  She often took a stand (sometimes contentiously) on community issues.  She was a charter member of the Meramec Garden Club and a longtime member of the First Baptist Church.   She enjoyed flower and vegetable gardening and was able to bend over to pull a weed until well in her nineties. In her last years, Alice lived in Texas, Florida, and in Butler, Missouri.

Alice was preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings, her husband Arthur Pursley, her husband Sam Graham, her daughters, Carol Clark,  Sharon Pursley, and  Jo Ellen Finkelstein.  She is survived by her son John Pursley and his wife, Janie, six grandchildren, Jessica Kidwell, Megan Pursley, John Pursley III, Keith Clark, Dawn Smith, and Karina DeBaere, seven great-grandchildren, and numerous other relatives and friends, including the family she developed during her residence at Medicalodges, where she received wonderful care.

Graveside services were held at Midlawn Memorial Gardens in Union, Missouri, under the direction of the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home of Steelville, Missouri, on May 22, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. with Jeffery Pursley and Stanley Pursley officiating.

Honored to be casket bearers were John Pursley, Stanley Pursley, Sheila Johns and Megan Pursley.

The family requests donations to Flamingo Gardens (botanical and everglades), 3750 S. Flamingo Rd., Davie, FL  33330

The Family was served by the Britton-Bennett Funeral Home in Steelville, MO.

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