Stella Aline Bagwell

Following a rich and fulfilling life that spanned over a century, Mrs. Aline Bagwell of Roebuck, S.C., experienced a celestial reunion with her lifelong love, Harold C. Bagwell, on January 1, 2024, after more than 30 years of separation. She was also reunited with her daughter, Emma Bagwell Hyde, who had passed away only eight months earlier. Aline leaves behind her son, Randy Bagwell, also residing in Roebuck. Aline was the last surviving member of 17 siblings originally from Kentucky. Known affectionately as "Aunt Sissy," she held a special place in the hearts of multiple generations of nieces and nephews who remained close to her over the decades. She often shared the charming story of how she met her beloved Harold as a young woman. Boarding a train, she encountered two empty seats—one beside a previously discourteous man and the other beside a handsome sailor. She would laugh while sharing, "you know which one I picked to sit by." After their serendipitous meeting, the couple exchanged love letters throughout their courtship—letters that Aline kept and treasured for decades. Upon Harold’s return from serving in the South Pacific during World War II, the two were wed. Following a brief period in Birmingham, Ala., where their daughter Emma was born, they established their home and created a lifetime of memories in Harold’s hometown of Roebuck. Aline bid farewell to this world from the house that Harold built for her more than 70 years ago. It stands on the former family farm that has since become residences for most of Aline’s descendants, allowing her to stay closely connected and actively involved in her family’s lives even in her later years. Her son Randy and his wife Maren beautifully maintain much of the land that his father once used for cattle. Aline’s grandson, Chris Spelman, and his wife Jennifer reside next door with her great-granddaughters Victoria and Sydney Spelman and great-grandson Parker Rothel. Great-granddaughter Morgan Rothel resides in Williamston, S.C. Aline’s late daughter Emma and her husband Fred Hyde also made a home on the family’s former farmland. Their son Mike Hyde built his home by his Nannie (Aline’s grandchildren’s nickname for her), sharing it with his wife Gina and Aline’s youngest great-granddaughter Lydia Hyde. Her only grandchild to leave the area was her eldest, Christie Hyde DeNave, who explored the world with her work before making a home near Orlando, Fla., with her husband Joe and Aline’s great-granddaughter Emily (Rae) DeNave. After losing her husband in 1989, Aline was determined to live an active and full life. She traveled with church friends and family across the country, visiting locations such as Pearl Harbor—where her husband’s Naval ship was docked during the bombing. Well into her 90s, Aline could be spotted mowing her expansive lawn, picking up pecans from the trees around her home, and tending to her beautiful azaleas and other garden plants. Even at the age of 100, she planted tomatoes by her porch so her six-year-old great-granddaughter Lydia could help harvest them. As Aline faced increasing health challenges in recent months, Chris Cepeda, her husband Ryan, and children Carmen, David, and Alex, became a second family to Aline. Their initial meeting occurred when Chris and Ryan started delivering meals to her through Mobile Meals of Spartanburg. The family began volunteering to help with tasks around her home, and Chris later became Aline’s caregiver. She was an essential addition to the Bagwell family, going above and beyond to provide Aline with comfort, assistance, and companionship, as well as offering compassion and support to her family. To honor the profound impact Chris and her family had on Aline’s life in her final months, the Bagwell family requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to Mobile Meals of Spartanburg in memorial to Aline at mobile-meals.org. A memorial service for Aline will be held to celebrate what the Lord told us in 2 Corinthians 5:1 (NLV), “Our body is like a house we live in here on earth. When it is destroyed, we know that God has another body for us in heaven. The new one will not be made by human hands as a house is made. This body will last forever.” The family will also hold a celebration of life service to commemorate the century of living Aline… Aunt Sissy… Nannie blessed us with on this earth. Services will be held on Saturday, January 13th, 2024 2 P.M., at the J.M. Dunbar Funeral Home, with a receiving of friends following the service.