Stanley Graves

Stanley Hope Graves HAMPTON - Stanley Hope Graves, 94, passed from this life on Saturday Nov. 20, 2010. Born Oct. 26, 1916 in the Lahore area of Orange, Va., he was the youngest of four children born to Channing Page and Natalie Burrus Graves. He received a civil engineering degree from Virginia Military Institute, Class of 1939. He then began a 42-year career at Newport News Shipyard as a designer. It was at this time that he met and married his wife of 60 years, Louise Tennis Graves. During World War II, he served in Europe in the 272nd Artillery Battalion as a reconnaissance pilot. He continued his military career locally as a Battalion Commander in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He was a longtime member of Memorial Baptist Church in Hampton. His favorite pastime was watching sports, especially college basketball and the Atlanta Braves. Mr. Graves had been an avid hunter throughout most of his life. He loved spending time with family and friends on his farm in Orange, especially at this time of Thanksgiving. Mr. Graves is survived by his sister, Violet Page Graves of Orange; daughter, Page Graves Nestor and husband Robert of Virginia Beach; daughter, Rhonda Louise Graves and Ellen Coleman of Hampton; granddaughter, Jenna Brown Agnello and husband Bryan of Norfolk; granddaughter Kathryn Leigh Brown and Joe Rodgers of Palo Alto, Calif.; grandson Michael Channing Brown and fiancée Christine Suter of Norfolk; stepgrandson, Owen Nestor of Newport News and stepgranddaughter, Katie Nestor of Norfolk. He will also be missed by his many nieces, nephews, and friends. A funeral will be conducted at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 24, at R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home by the Rev. Lawrence Biermann with interment to follow in Parklawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends today from 6 to 8 p.m. in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Memorial Baptist Church, 317 Lee St., Hampton, VA 23669.