Agnes Granberry Chalker was born in Yantley, Alabama. Her parents were Professor James Asaph Granberry and Elizabeth Jane Granberry (Dama). With her family she also lived in Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Florida. Stories were often told about living in Oklahoma during the "Great Land Rush" including tales of Indians and oil prospecting. The family moved to Lake City, Florida during her teenage years where her father taught at one of the colleges that would later form the University of Florida.

Agnes began painting when she was 9 years old when her father took her to an art teacher at the college in Oklahoma where he was Dean at the time. She was not allowed paints, only to focus on drawing and charcoal. She became very proficient with her craftsmanship.

Agnes attended the Florida State College for Women which later became Florida State University. She was active in all school activities becoming president of her class, the YWCA chapter, and her sorority. She participated in the athletics of her day becoming a champion with the Indian clubs and playing tennis and basketball while wearing bloomers. She was an honor student in her fields of classical Greek and Latin and art. 

During her junior and senior years she taught art and designed the "Three Flambeaux" (or Three Torches), the symbol still used at FSU. In 1913 she graduated as Valedictorian and received one of the first of three diplomas in Art given by FSU and served on the alumni board there for many years. She was the university's official representative at the National Conference of University Alumni in New England.

Two of her charcoal works were entered in a competition at the Chicago Exposition and won. She was awarded a scholarship to the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. However, a local businessman, Selwyn Chalker, persuaded her to marry him instead so she gave up the chance to attend the Sorbonne.

She and Selwyn Chalker were married November 12, 1913 in Arcadia, FL. They settled in Lake City to live where they were active in the church, educational, and civic groups. They began their family of five children there. They lived for short periods in Miami and Tampa, returning to Lake City in the late 1920's. Agnes taught in the high school in Lake City, teaching Latin, Speech, and English.

The Chalker home in Lake City was a second home for most of the young folks of the town. She often organized and chaperoned their social events. She also taught many of them in Sunday School and she and her husband were very involved in the Lake City Baptist Church. She continued to be active in Church activities throughout her life.

The family moved to Jacksonville in 1943 and then purchased their dream home in Orange Park in 1945 with her sister, Hallie Granberry. When Agnes saw the property on the St. Johns River, she immediately said, "This is it!". There were wild cats, owls, and foxes in the woods surrounding the house. It was purchased for $10,000 with Hallie paying 1/3 of the price. They named the property "Chalgran", a combination of their names. Later, her daughter Aggie and husband Jack Watson built a house on the property and Hallijeanne came to live there with her after she retired from the foreign service. Later, Aggie and Jack's daughter and her husband lived there until the place was sold in 2021.

After moving to Orange Park, Agnes taught school in Duval County at John Gorrie Junior High. She taught at public schools for over 30 years during her career and served with many educational organizations. She taught Latin and English at Gorrie and she also directed plays and choral reading groups.

Agnes continued to be involved in many activities. Active with the State Board of the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs, she served as Chairman of Education under five of their state presidents. She helped organize and was one of the charter members of the Orange Park Garden Club and served as President. She served as president of the Orange Park Women's Club for two years and she was also a charter member of the Fine Arts Guild of Orange Park.

She was extremely proud to be named "Mother of the Year" for the state of Florida in 1953. She continued to be involved and served as President of the Florida American Mother's Committee for a number of years. When she attended the award ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, she met many "swanky people" (her words). She actually had a 45 minute private chat with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. She had written to Mrs. Roosevelt telling her that she had always wanted to meet her and talk with her a bit so she received an invitation to meet with her in her private apartment. She called her "the loveliest person imaginable". It was the highlight of her trip.

Some of the friends she made include Mrs. Roosevelt, Eddie Dowling (of Broadway fame), Archibald Rutledge (Poet Laureate of South Carolina), and several ambassadors. She never met a stranger and If you ever went anywhere with her, you would witness her ability to quickly make friends with everyone she met.

She always kept up with her art work, painting mostly in water colors with her distinct pen and ink drawings. Her daughter, Hallijeanne, served in the Foreign Service and Agnes visited with her at her posts in Martinique and South Africa. After her husband died in 1962 and she retired from teaching, she lived with Hallijeanne for almost three years in Rome, Prague, and Honduras and travelled in 17 European countries. She painted everything she saw and came home with a huge portfolio of drawings and paintings. She exhibited in a number of overseas and stateside cities and was a popular speaker at many gatherings. She continued to paint right until her death in 1975.

She wrote a book about her adventures while visiting her daughter, Hallijeanne, in Martinique and cruising the Caribbean Islands called "Caribbean Carousel".