Cecilia “Lemmie” Graham died peacefully Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, at her home on Clear Lake near Watkins. She was 84. 
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Lake Union Evangelical Covenant Church in rural South Haven. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield, and continue one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church. Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
Lemmie Manuel was born Oct. 19, 1937, in Watkins. She graduated from Saint Cloud School of Nursing and the University of Saint Francis. She served as Infection Control Registered Nurse at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. Upon retirement, Lemmie and Ron moved to their Clear Lake home with their two horses, a childhood dream come true for Lemmie.
Lemmie was known for her ever-present and beautiful smile, and for her devotion to her faith, her family, and her friends. When she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018, Lemmie continued her positive outlook into hospice care at home in 2020 until the day she passed. For 17 months, Lemmie presented a smile and a daily “thank you” to her Ecumen of Litchfield Hospice team led by Registered Nurse Shelly Hank and Nursing Assistant Jen Welte. The family expresses its sincere appreciation for the exceptional, compassionate, and loving care provided to Lemmie by the entire Ecumen Hospice team, allowing Lemmie and Ron to enjoy being together at home these past 17 months, until the day she passed to her eternal home with her Lord an Savior, Jesus Christ.
Lemmie was preceded in death by her son Grant.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years Ron Graham; children Glory (and Todd), Ginger, Gretchen (and Gary), Gregory (and Joan), Garrick (and Roxanne), and daughter-in-law Christy (and Randy); 11 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.