Emma Waddell

Emma Mae (Johnson) Waddell was born October 9, 1943, to Alva and Mildred Johnson and grew up on a homestead near Brownsville and the sprawling wilderness of Mammoth Cave National Park. On the two-mile walk to the bus stop, with beloved siblings Alline and A.J., she would pass neighbor Claud-ee Skaggs, the “carefree” jailer who had apparently earned a lifetime travel pass made of his thumb as legend has it, through the practice of letting prisoners out on Friday night to spend the weekends with their families.

She was the youngest of several siblings (Norma Jean, Willie Mae, James, Opal, Alline, A.J.). Her father, Alva (Alvey) was an avid reader who was fond of giving second life to her college textbooks and perhaps unsurprisingly, used his literary talents to deliver well-timed appeals to her mother Mildred such as, “now Suki, the good book says to come together in reason”.

In the summer of 1961, mom worked at Atwell’s Restaurant and Motel. This was her first experience working in a public place. During this time, she was able to work alongside her best friend, Hazel. She would tell stories about how this changed her life because she was able to buy her senior ring, clothes and eyeglasses for herself and her mother, Mildred. Her whole world had changed. It was during this same time that she met the love of her life, Murrell. They dated and eventually married on August 2, 1962. Their life together was an endless life of adventures.

If a dictionary contained all the words describing what you love about the world, and they could be made into a syrup, even lathering the elixir could not begin to capture the glowing essence of Emma. The roots of the flower of her life were so deep and voluminous that any light reaching her leaves would cause the adjacent plants to glow. She channeled this energetic gift into the minds and spirits of elementary school children for 28 years, from 1973 to 2001, as well as her own children (Chris, Kevin and Jason) and her six grandchildren (Emerson, Vinny, Quinton, Paige, Wyatt and Parker). Among many terms of affection, she was commonly called Mamaw and EeOo by her family later in life, though the origin story of lore seems to have been tucked away by gnomes for safe keeping.

She could often be found in the evenings peacefully grading papers and recording grades, and throughout life would naturally reflect, “I don’t feel as though I’ve worked a day in my life as a teacher”. She could also be found crocheting, crafting, or saying nice things to others at random interjunctions, because as she instructed, we should not miss an opportunity to lift our new friends with kindness.

Of course, everyone is at least partly bound up in paradox, and she was not afraid to defy her typical cleansing grace in a surprisingly deft motion where a shoe could be slung from her foot and readied into the hand, as if cocked and loaded with an ad hoc theoretical projectile to ward off persistent or obnoxious irritation. And have you ever wondered which words a benevolent deity-incarnate would pull off the shelf in response to being forced to take an assisted shower?

Endearing anomalies aside, the grace of our Dear Mother will live on in the hearts and minds of all she touched. A person of her stature in the cosmos does not start and end but rather continues to cast a warm light that flatters all of perception. Love you Mom. Love you EeOo. Love you Mamaw. Love you Sis. Love you Friend. Till we meet again.

Funeral service will be conducted on Friday, April 3, 2026, at 2:00 pm in the chapel of Schoppenhorst, Underwood & Brooks Funeral Home (Preston Hwy. at Brooks Rd.) with interment in Hebron Cemetery. Family and friends may pay their respects on Friday, April 3, 2026, from 10:00 am until the time of service at the funeral home.