Erin Napier Mourns Aunt Mae Mae, Inspiration for Mae
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- AI Frontier
- Erin Napier
- Home Town
- Hgtv
- Celebrity
HGTV's Erin Napier announced the death of her Aunt Mae Mae on November 4, honoring the woman who inspired her daughter Mae's name.
A beloved greeter in Laurel is gone
Erin Napier announced on Instagram on Wednesday, November 4, that her beloved Aunt Mae Mae had passed away earlier that day, according to TV Insider. The loss comes as Erin and Ben Napier continue filming Season 11 of HGTV's Home Town, which TV Insider notes is still underway.
She added that her aunt worked in retail her entire life and could teach a master class in service.
The woman who shaped a young artist
Erin credited her aunt with nurturing her creativity long before she became a designer.
When her mother worked as a part-time realtor, Aunt Mae Mae kept young Erin, walking her through trails where four generations of the family lived, collecting leaves for scrapbooks, teaching her the presidents, playing John Wayne movies and singing Elvis to her.
"She saw my creative gifts and knew exactly how to nurture them, helping raise up a professional artist without even realizing it," Erin wrote.
USA Today also notes Erin joked that her aunt's laugh reminded her of a goose, and that she will forever associate her with the smell of Ivory soap and little ice cream cones with marshmallows and strawberry jam hidden in the bottom.
A legacy carried in a daughter's name
The aunt, whose full name was Marilyn according to Yahoo News, is the namesake of Erin's 5-year-old daughter Mae. "She was so very special, when my last baby girl was on the way I knew what we would name her. Mae," Erin wrote, adding, "I so hope she got to meet Elvis today!"
Yahoo News reports the tribute included photos spanning her aunt's life: wearing a purple Laurel Mercantile Co. shirt at the store door, posing with Erin and Ben in a snowy backdrop, and a sweet hug with little Mae. Erin and Ben also share 8-year-old daughter Helen.
A week of loss and triumph
The grief arrived less than a week after a professional high point. On Saturday, October 31, Erin announced that Home Town Takeover: Sebring won the 2026 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Instructional/How-To Program for Season 3, per TV Insider and USA Today.
The couple skipped the ceremony because they were filming in Laurel and, in Erin's words, "couldn't stand to miss one of the handful of times our girls will trick or treat in their short childhoods."
Fans flooded the tribute's comments with memories of being greeted at the Mercantile, with one recalling her walking customers to their cars seven years ago.