Polly Bagwell

Polly Bagwell, of Haw River, passed away January 11, 2023, at the age of 98. She was born in Candler, NC in 1924. Polly was preceded in death by her parents, M.M. Allen and Lena Cordell Allen, as well as six older brothers and sisters. She was a member of Swepsonville United Methodist Church, in Graham, NC.

She is survived by her two children, O. Kenneth Bagwell, Jr, and Joan Bagwell Crowson (Danny); three grandsons, Nathan Barnhardt (Alisha), Keith Barnhardt (Melinda), and Kevin Barnhardt (Daniela Villalba); Miss Mey Lin Li of Vienna, Austria; seven great-grandchildren, Dylan Barnhardt, Zoe Barnhardt, Jameson Barnhardt, Tatum Barnhardt, Olivia Barnhardt, Parker Barnhardt, and Camden Barnhardt; two step great-grandchildren, Nicole Harp and Ayden Harp; and several nieces and nephews.

After WWII Polly moved to Atlanta, Georgia with her then husband, Oliver K. Bagwell, where she worked as a payroll clerk for Westinghouse Electrical Supply Co. After her children were born, the family relocated to Asheville, NC. Polly spent several years raising a family and beginning a career at AkzoAmerica. Although the marriage subsequently ended, she felt that raising her children was the greatest accomplishment of her life.

Polly transferred with Akzo America (now Akzo Nobel) to New York City late in her career. She retired in 1990 and returned to North Carolina. In retirement, Polly worked as a Guardian Ad Litem for abused and neglected children in Orange and Chatham counties. She volunteered as church treasurer for Aldersgate Methodist Church. Following the advice of a friend “never to postpone joy,” she loved tea parties, flowers, reading, travel, cooking, and singing in the church choir. She was serious about successfully completing the New York Times crossword every day.

Rich and Thompson Funeral Home in Graham will manage arrangements there and a memorial service will be held at Swepsonville United Methodist Church at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 15. She will then be moved to Asheville for a visitation at Groce Funeral Home on Friday, January 20 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Entombment will take place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Candler, NC.