Laura Maverick Graves Avery

1933 - 2019

Laura Maverick Graves Avery
August 26, 1933 - September 1, 2019
Laura Maverick Graves Avery passed away of cancer on September 1, 2019 in Medford, Oregon at the age of 86. Laura Graves was born August 26, 1933 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Dr. Amos Maverick Graves, a neurosurgeon, and Therese Fischer Graves.
Laura's middle name came from her great-great grandfather, Samuel Augustus Maverick, who was a 19th century rancher and developer in San Antonio, Texas. He was too busy with politics and other non-ranch business to brand his cattle. They were, nonetheless, recognized in their wanderings on the range as his because of the lack of brand, and today the eponym 'maverick' means 'stray cow, individualistic, eccentric'. Laura inherited the name and the personality.
Laura received a BA from Smith College in 1955 and a Masters in Elementary Education from Harvard Graduate School in 1967, and taught in elementary schools for many years.
On December 21, 1956, Laura married the Rev. Gilbert Stiles Avery III, who was a recently ordained Episcopal priest. Within a year they moved to the Lower Eastside of New York City where Gil began his inner-city ministry; living among and working with poor minorities. Both of their children, Mark Avery and Elizabeth Radke were born there.
Laura and Gil cared deeply about social justice their entire lives. In New York City they took in teens and others who were in trouble with drugs and/or the law. She walked with Dr. Martin Luther King in the historic Selma March to Montgomery, Alabama, and she and the family marched with Dr. King in Boston, Massachusetts. She and Gil funded Habitat for Humanity home, and work collecting food for and helping in soup kitchens. She and Gil were early activists with the AIDS epidemic.
A prolific writer, Laura published eight books of non-fiction, many of them related to the Maverick family history. She was involved with the arts her entire life, studying music as a child, and in 1972 was the first woman to conduct the Boston Pops Orchestra, Aaron Copeland's Hoedown. Moving to Eugene, Oregon to be with their daughter Elizabeth Radke and their young grandchildren, Gil and Laura were generous supporters of the arts. With the Eugene symphony, she endowed the first Harp Chair, served on the board for 10 years, and initiated and endowed the Laura Avery Guest Artist Master Class series. They donated funds for the new buildings at the School of Music at the University of Oregon, and to Lane Community College, and supported local theater, Eugene Opera and Ballet.
Her husband Gil passed away in 2015. She is survived by her son Mark Stiles Avery and his wife, Anne – Maree; daughter Elizabeth Avery Radke and her husband Brian Price; nine grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, two step great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews and their families.
The service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 N. Second Street, Ashland, Oregon at 2:00 p.m., Friday, September 13, 2019. Memorial contributions may be made to the Eugene Symphony, Habitat for Humanity or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements are in care of Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home, Ashland, Oregon. www.litwillersimonsen.com
Please sign the guest book at www.registerguard.com/legacy