Sweet Agnes decided it was time to go when she lost her ability to walk, following a stroke. She was born & raised in Hallettsville, TX. She married Frank J. Hemmi of Nada, TX, on Nov. 13, 1934 in Hallettsville, and they came to Houston in 1935. She was a founding member of St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church, and devoted her whole career to the Catholic Church, retiring at age 62.

Agnes Grahmann Hemmi was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She dearly loved her family and church. She attended mass regularly and enjoyed praying for her family and having masses said for loved ones. You really felt blessed when Agnes prayed for you as she was so close to the Lord.

Once in Houston, Agnes worked for nine years as a nanny/housekeeper for the Strader family and then began her career with the Catholic Diocese in Houston. She worked the front desk, answered phones and knew all the priests. She instilled her love of Christ and the Catholic Church in her daughters, Carolyn NovoGradac and Doris Petronella as well as in Carolyn's three children and four grandchildren.

Agnes enjoyed hosting birthday and family gatherings in her home and was a terrific cook by nature, not one to rely on recipes. Her meals nurtured and blessed her family. She baked her husband a cake each week and always had homemade coffee cakes on hand. She liked baking fruit, cream cheese, and poppy seed kolaches with her granddaughter Lee Ann. Family gatherings always included playing cards or dominoes around the kitchen table. Agnes was good with numbers, quick to score in dominoes and everyone wanted to partner with her for good reason! She had regular card games with friends until she outlived them all. Brian and his wife Jasmine began hosting regular gatherings in the last several years where Agnes treasured the company of her two youngest great granddaughters, Bella and Ava. On occasion she'd help Carolyn babysit Bella and Ava in Pearland, TX while Brian and Jasmine traveled.

Agnes enjoyed reading the Houston Chronicle and her hometown Hallettsville paper. She kept up with current events, was interested in the weather and was an avid writer in her diaries. She enjoyed reading her past journals and would relate interesting family history to us from her detailed record keeping. Agnes corresponded with her granddaughter Lee Ann in weekly letters. She reveled in keeping and re-reading her letters as she got older.

Sweet Agnes liked talking about her childhood on the farm, relating her youth, genealogy and family traditions to her children and telling us about her many brothers and sisters. She delighted in attending weddings and reunions in Hallettsville and seeing her siblings and many cousins.

At age 95 when she finally quit driving, she wanted her oldest great grandchild, Sarah who had just begun driving to have her Honda Civic. It was fitting, as Lee Ann's first car also was a hand-me-down from Agnes. Agnes liked to grow vegetables and tomatoes in her garden and often called on Brian to trap and release the opossums that would eat her tomatoes. As she grew older, her grandsons Don and Brian would visit to check in on her and fix this, that, or the other around her house. She and Brian had lunch each week during the last months that she lived independently in her home on Mischire Drive in Houston.

After her husband of seventy years died in 2004, Agnes looked forward to more regular travels with Carolyn to see Lee Ann's family in Richardson, TX. They would visit about every eight weeks and attend various school functions of her eldest great granddaughters, Sarah and Hannah. She would get her hair done, and spend hours helping Lee Ann mend clothes and iron. Agnes always liked to treat the family to a meal out and to leave the girls a five dollar bill for letting her sleep in their room. She was a beautiful seamstress and taught both her daughters Carolyn and Doris to sew. Agnes helped sew her granddaughter's wedding dress and would sew pretty nightgowns for her great grandchildren.

In March of 2011, after living independently as long as she could, Agnes moved in with her daughter Carolyn who felt privileged to care for her mother patiently and with love. They had several healthy and happy months together and Agnes was able to eat as much Blue Bell Ice Cream as she wanted and never gained weight! Agnes suffered a mild stroke on June 29, 2012 and after hospitalization required rehabilitation. Her health steadily declined and she passed peacefully during her first day in hospice care the morning of August 9, 2012.

Agnes is survived by: 2 daughters, Carolyn NovoGradac and Doris Petronella of Houston; sister Lillie Lutz of D'Hanis; 3 grandchildren, Donald NovoGradac Jr. of Houston, LeeAnn Wetterau & husband Thad of Richardson, and Brian NovoGradac & wife Jasmine of Pearland; and 4 great grandchildren, Sarah & Hannah Wetterau and Bella & Ava NovoGradac.

Agnes is preceded in death by: husband Frank; parents; 5 brothers, Alfonse, Joe, Alois, Paul and Henry Grahmann; and 4 sisters, Annie & Helen Grahmann, Mary Migl, and Martha Koch.

Agnes was friendly, independent, and could play a mean game of dominos till the end. She will be missed.

Funeral Mass Service: 1 pm, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hallettsville. Visitation: 11 am, Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Officiate: Rev. John Peters. Pallbearers: Don NovoGradac Jr, Brian NovoGradac, Thad Wetterau, Kenny Grahmann, David Grahmann, Larry Grahmann and Edward Grahmann. Burial: Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery. Memorials: Charity of your choice.