Mable "Mae" Lister Phillips

Charleston – Mable “Mae” Lister Phillips, 88, of Wellford and Charleston, passed away on April 4, 2026 – Holy Saturday – at her family’s home in Charleston, surrounded by her children, son- in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Born on March 30,1938, Mae was the daughter of the late Gaston William Lister and Mary Broome Lister. She was preceded in death by her husband John Hugh Phillips, her daughter, Shanna Nicole Phillips, six siblings, and seven half-siblings. She was born in Spartanburg County and spent her teenage years in Rock Hill, SC; on September 6, 1960, she married John Hugh Phillips and settled with him in Wellford, SC. She was a dedicated member of Little Mountain Baptist Church and later of First Baptist North Spartanburg, where she was the indispensable secretary of her tight-knit and long-lived Sunday School class. “Nana,” as she was almost universally known for the past thirty years, loved flowers and gardening, and indeed for several years made a business of that hobby. In retirement, she enjoyed frequent trips with her husband, children, and grandchildren – especially to the beach, where “Nana” would fry up the fish her husband and son-in-law caught fresh from the surf. Paired with her hand-cut, homemade french fries, it was a foretaste of the Divine. No less heavenly were her famous “Sunday Dinners.” On each Sabbath, for at least twenty years, she would rush home from the 8AM church service to prepare a feast of all the southern comfort foods, from fried chicken to creamed corn to her legendary “Macaroni Pie” – and much, much else in between. Around the groaning kitchen table her grandchildren giddily jostled for seconds and thirds, before spending the afternoon lazily lounging around her cozy home and floriferous yard. After the death of her husband in January 2001, she began to travel more frequently to the lowcountry, where her eldest daughter and three grandsons had relocated. These solo pilgrimages saw her careening alarmingly down Interstate 26, often getting lost along the way, to be greeted at the door by loud hosannas – and softly whispered pleas to swiftly bake a macaroni pie. She did not possess even an ounce of selfishness, or indeed any real concern about herself at all; rather her whole life and being was given over to the service of others – and most especially her family. She was a steadfast support for her husband, she raised two daughters and suffered the death of a third, and later cared for her ailing mother-in-law and sister. But above all, she was devoted to her four grandsons, all of whom she helped raise, all of whom she fed, spoiled, adored, and supported, and who all owe her a debt that can never be repaid. In her last years, she moved to Charleston, just across the street from her family there, where she could again join her grandchildren – and now, her great-grandchildren – for Sunday meals. The last such feast she attended was less than a week before her death, to celebrate her eighty-eighth birthday – after which she demanded, characteristically but unsuccessfully, to be allowed to wash the dishes. * Mae is survived by her daughters, Robin Gramling (Ben M. Gramling III) and Dawn Brooks; by her four grandsons, Ben Martin Gramling IV (Kelly), Phillip Hayes Gramling (Laura), Robertson Lane Gramling (Caitlyn), and Bryce Alexander Brooks; and by her three great-grandchildren, Gwendolyn Lila Gramling, Ben Martin Gramling V, and Evangeline Marie Gramling. In addition to her husband, daughter, and parents, Mae is predeceased by her siblings, Madge King, Furman Lister, James Lister, Mary Bullard, Harold Lister, and Gladys Lister, and by her half-siblings, Annie Corn, Lannie Pruitt, William Lister, Beauford Lister, Hiram Lister, and Andrew Lister, and Eunice Lister. * The family will receive friends Friday, April 10, 2026 from 1:00-2:00 PM with the service beginning at 2:00 PM at Gramling Methodist Church, 14941 Asheville Hwy, Gramling, SC 29348. Interment will follow at Little Mountain Baptist Church, 1302 Little Mountain Road, Wellford, SC 29385. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gramling Methodist Church, PO Box 58 Gramling SC 29348.

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Mable "Mae" Lister Phillips

March 30, 1938 - April 4, 2026