lit a candle 23h agoRead about Mrs. Hargrove on a Kentucky paper's site my sister sent me, don't even know why it crossed the ocean to Bogota. Ninety seven years old, still playing piano at home. That detail stayed with me all day.
Their story
Sue M. Hargrove was a Kentucky homemaker whose life centered on family, church, and the quiet rhythms of home. She was not a public figure in the conventional sense, and no Wikipedia biography exists for her. This memorial draws on the obituaries published by Shannon Funeral Service of Shelbyville and…
Sue M. Hargrove was a Kentucky homemaker whose life centered on family, church, and the quiet rhythms of home. She was not a public figure in the conventional sense, and no Wikipedia biography exists for her. This memorial draws on the obituaries published by Shannon Funeral Service of Shelbyville and by The Sentinel-News of Shelby County, which together document her death and the shape of a long private life.
She was a native of Campbellsburg, Kentucky, and a graduate of Campbellsburg High School. Over the course of her life she lived in Milton, Kentucky, and later in Shelbyville, where she made her home in her final years. By her family's account she devoted herself to raising three sons and caring for an extended family that grew to span five generations, from grandchildren through great great grandchildren.
Hargrove was a longtime member of Shelbyville First Baptist Church and had previously belonged to Milton Baptist Church. Those who knew her remembered simple, steady pleasures: cooking for family gatherings, playing the piano, following University of Kentucky sports, and above all spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Faith and hospitality ran through the weekly pattern of her days rather than through public titles or career headlines.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Hargrove of Shelbyville; her parents, Earl and Ruth Willhite; her brother, John Earl Willhite; and her sisters, Dorothy Williams and Anne Brewer. She is survived by sons Tim Hargrove of Louisville, Jamie Hargrove of Pewee Valley, and Brad Hargrove of Eminence, along with their spouses Claudia, Renee, and Debbie; eleven grandchildren; seventeen great grandchildren; and five great great grandchildren.
Sue M. Hargrove died on Friday, September 18, 2026, in Louisville at the age of 97. No cause of death has been made public. Funeral services were held at noon on Monday, September 21, 2026, at Shannon Funeral Home in Shelbyville, with the Rev. Garrett Craig officiating. Visitation preceded the service from 10:00 a.m. until noon, and burial followed at Grove Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville. The family asked that expressions of sympathy be directed to Shelbyville First Baptist Church rather than sent as flowers.
Biography adapted from Shannon Funeral Service (Shelbyville) obituary via Legacy.com; The Sentinel-News (Shelbyville), published September 2026..
In their own words
“She enjoyed cooking, playing the piano, University of Kentucky sports, and, most of all, spending time with her grandchildren and family.”
Shannon Funeral Service obituary
Photos
1Sue M. Hargrove
by People Forever
Same, the piano line got me too.