Richard Graves Obituary
GRAVES Richard Allen Graves, Callaway Drive, Yulee, FL, husband of Charlotte McGuirt Graves for 34 years, passed away Monday, January 10, 2005, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Gainesville, FL. Mr. Graves was born in Pearisburg, Virginia on October 31, 1949. He was a 1969 graduate of Fernandina Beach High School, and joined the United States Marine Corps. Mr. Graves served his country for 22 and 1/2 years, retiring in December 1991 as an E-7 Gunnery Sergeant. Sgt. Graves saw action in Vietnam, Panama, and Lebanon, and was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries received in combat, as well as numerous other awards and ribbons for his service. Following his military service, Mr. Graves was employed at the at the Scotty's Store Location on 8th Street in Fernandina Beach for several years as the assistant manager. Since 1998, he has been employed by the Florida Rock Company as a driver. In addition to driving trucks in his employment, Mr. Graves also drove concrete trucks in the Truck Rodeo State Championships and won a second place trophy for his skills in the statewide competition. Mr. Graves will be remembered by his family as a hard worker, and a man who loved his grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoyed watching war movies on television. He was a Baptist, a member of the Marine Corps League, and American Legion Post #54. Survivors Include: his wife, Charlotte M. Graves, Yulee; their children, James R. Graves, Jesup, GA, Karen L. Crews, Hilliard, FL, & Philipp K. Graves, Yulee, FL; his father, James A. Graves; his mother, Jean G. Adams; two sisters, Brenda Stivers & Bobbie Northey, all of Fernandina Beach; and several aunts, uncles, nieces & nephews. Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday morning at 11 A.M. in the Burgess Chapel of Oxley-Heard Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Bosque Bello Cemetery. The United States Marine Corps will afford Mr. Graves full military honors. The family will receive friends Wednesday evening from 5-7 P.M. at Oxley-Heard Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Mr. Graves' name to the American Cancer Society, 1599 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30329. Oxley-Heard Funeral Directors. Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com
Published by Florida Times-Union on Jan. 11, 2005.