Emily Louise Miller Mawhinney

November 17, 2016 Last Updated: November 17, 2016 11:00 AM Death Notice

Emily Louise Miller Mawhinney, 84, of Harrisville went to her heavenly home Friday after a long hospitalization at Grove City Medical Center.

She was born into her earthly home Friday, Oct. 23, 1931, in Pittsburgh. She was the second daughter of Roy and Margaret Miller and the younger sister of Dolores Brown.

Louise was a member of St. Anthony Church of St. Peter Parish. She belonged to the UFCW and retired from the Giant Eagle in Slippery Rock at age 75. She formerly was employed as a crossing guard and cafeteria aide for the Penn Hills School District. Louise, or “Lulu” as she was called, was head of security and a member of the Moraine Camplands Association. She was a waitress in several restaurants and grills and was proud of her work serving others.

She married her one true love, Raymond Mawhinney Sr., who preceded her in death. They spent summers camping and had miles and miles of adventures in their motorhome spending cherished time with family and friends.

She is survived by her sister, Dolores Brown; her two children, daughter Dolores (John) Bliss and son Raymond (Lynn) Mawhinney Jr.; four grandchildren, Angela, Jeffrey, Raymond and Erika; her great-grandchild, Keghun; and several nephews and nieces.

While mostly within a 100-mile radius of where she was born, she lived a great big, beautiful life. Throughout her 84 years, she was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a rebel, a party, a gift and a secret keeper. She was sharp. And kind. And loving. She broke rules. She loved Frank Sinatra. She loved wildly and without abandon.

Whether you called Louise, Lulu, Toots, the “cheese lady,” G-Ma, mother or friend, she was a woman who loved life, cared deeply about her family, appreciated all who passed her way and taught us to have a strong work ethic, to look at silver linings, be happy and grateful with what we have, to love, and in her words “Let Jesus take the wheel.”

MAWHINNEY — Friends of Emily Louise Miller Mawhinney, who died Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Smith Funeral Home, 421 New Castle St., Slippery Rock.A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Anthony Catholic Church of St. Peter's Parish in Forestville.Interment will be at St. Anthony's Cemetery.