Emily Meggett Obituary

Emily Meggett was a community leader, chef, and author of American Geechee-Gullah descent.

Emily Meggett died on Friday, April 21 2023,  at the age of 90. Emily Meggett died surrounded by family and friends after a brief illness, according to her family.

Emily Meggett was born in Sea Island, Georgia, on November 19, 1932, and grew up immersed in Gullah culture, a set of food, rituals, and language that took root when West and Central Africans were brought to the Southern United States and enslaved.

Emily Meggett released Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island, a collection of recipes and stories she co-wrote with American food journalist Kayla Stewart, on April 26, 2022.

Emily Meggett was so beloved in the Edisto Island community that, according to The New York Times, “no one charges her for anything.” Most days, she cooked more food than she needed and left her side door open so that neighbours knew that she had a meal to spare.

Rep. Jim Clyburn presented her with the President’s Volunteer Service Award on July 22. President Joe Biden wrote in an accompanying note, “We are living in a moment that calls for your hope and your light.”