Norman Arthur Graebner

Norman Arthur Graebner

Norman Arthur Graebner of Charlottesville, Virginia, died at the Colonnades on Monday, May 10, 2010.

He was born in Kingman, Kansas, on October 19, 1915, the son of the late Rudolph Graebner and Helen Brauer. He was preceded in death by a sister, Agnes; and a brother, Richard; as well as two wives, Laura Baum, who died in 1997, and Jane Shannon, who died in 2002.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Moon Graebner; her six children and their spouses, and 13 grandchildren; Jane's two daughters and their children and grandchildren; a son, the Reverend N. Brooks Graebner of Hillsborough, North Carolina and his wife, Chris, and their son, Martin; a daughter, Emily Tillotson of Rapid City, South Dakota, and her husband, Dr. Loyal Tillotson, and their two children, Genevieve Anne and Loyal Andrew.

He was a graduate of Milwaukee State Teachers College, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Chicago, where he earned his doctorate. His teaching career centered at Iowa State University in Ames, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and the University of Virginia, where he was the Stettinius, and then Compton, Professor of History. He also taught at Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, the United States Military Academy, the College of William and Mary, Marshall University, the Virginia Military Institute, and Beloit College. Abroad he taught at the University of Queensland, the University of Sydney, and the University of Heidelberg.

He served in the United States Army during World War II, receiving his commission in ordnance, in June 1945. He reached the Philippines in July, and was assigned to the headquarters that ultimately oversaw the American occupation of Japan. There, in January, 1946, he was selected to establish the first school for American soldiers in Japan, which opened in Yokohama.

His honors included the Thomas Jefferson Award at the University of Virginia, the Harmsworth Professorship at Oxford University, and election to the Society of American Historians and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. At the University of Virginia he received the Alumni, IMP Society, Z Society, Jefferson Scholars, and Raven Society awards.

Although he authored, co-authored, or edited over twenty books, mostly in the field of American Diplomatic History, teaching always dominated his life and brought him his most cherished rewards. He recalled his long life in an autobiography, A Twentieth-Century Odyssey: Memoir of a Life in Academe, published in 2002.

There will be a private service of committal at the University of Virginia cemetery.

There will be a public memorial service at the University of Virginia Chapel 2 p.m. Monday, June 7, 2010. The Reverend Ellen White of St. Anne's Parish will officiate.

The family extends a sincere thank you to the staff of the Colonnades for their kind and compassionate care.j

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, 501 Grove Avenue, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902, or Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, Virginia 22116.

Friends may send condolences to the family at www.hillandwood.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.