Henry Theodore Northcott Graves

Henry Theodore Northcott (Ted) Graves, Chairman of the Board of Luray Caverns Corporation and resident of Luray, Va., died Thursday, July 8, 2010, at the Winchester Medical Center.

He was born Nov. 10, 1922, at Hagerstown, Md., and was the son of the late Henry Walton Graves and Katherine Maria Northcott Graves. He was married on Nov. 29, 1944, to Rebecca Beall Jackson Graves, who survives.

Graves was graduated from Luray High School and attended the University of Miami. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and served from 1942 to 1945 and completed his Bachelor of Science in Commerce at the University of Virginia in 1949. He was a member of Kappa Sigma, the Lafayette Lodge, the Caverns Shrine Club, the American Legion and the Tuesday Night Supper Club. He was an honorary member and past president of the Luray Rotary Club. He was a member of the Christ Episcopal Church in Luray, where he served on the Vestry and the Finance Committee. He was a past member of the Board of Directors at Page Valley Bank and served on the Page County School Board.

Graves' grandfather purchased the Luray Caverns property in 1905, and the attraction remains in the Graves family today. Ted Graves became actively involved in the business operations in the early 1950s and was president of the company from 1952 to 2008. Under his leadership, it grew to become one of the premier travel attractions in the eastern United States. Graves was an avid car enthusiast, and his collection of vintage and historic automobiles was opened to the public in 1957 as the Car and Carriage Caravan. The complex grew over the next several decades to include a restaurant, two motels, a golf course, and the recently completed Luray Valley Museum. Graves donated land to the county for the construction of the Luray Caverns Airport and has operated the airport since it opened in the 1970s.

Graves was actively involved in the travel industry throughout the state of Virginia and beyond. He was a past president of the Virginia Travel Council, the National Caves Association and the Southern Highlands Attractions, and served on the Board of the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association. Several Virginia governors appointed him Chairman of both the Virginia Board of Conservation and Economic Development and the Advisory Committee on Outdoor Advertising. Additionally, he was appointed to serve on the Virginia Cave Commission. Among the many awards he has received was the coveted Shenandoah Bowl, presented by the Byrd Newspapers, given in recognition for outstanding service to the travel industry of the Shenandoah Valley. Graves was a founding member and has served on the Outstanding Virginia Committee since its inception in the early 1980s.

In addition to his wife, Graves is survived by six children, Rebecca Beall Hudson of Luray, Katherine Murchison Fichtler and husband, Richard, of Montana, Elizabeth Duvall Vitu and husband, Jean Pierre, of France, Cornelia Walton Spain of Richmond, John Howard Hershey Graves and James Roderick Oughton Graves and wife, Isabel, of Luray. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his eldest son, Henry Theodore Northcott (Harry) Graves II.

The family will receive friends from 7-8 p.m. Monday, July 12, at the Bradley Funeral Home. A service will be conducted on Tuesday, July 13, at 11 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church in Luray. Burial will follow at the Graves family cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Luray Volunteer Fire Department, the Luray Rescue Squad or your local Boy Scout Troop.
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