Lewis Graeber Jr.

Lewis Adolphus Graeber, Jr., died Saturday, March 22, 2008. Visitation was held at the family home from 5-7pm on Monday. Services will be held today at 11:00am at the Marks Presbyterian Church, a church his parents helped found. Burial will be in the Marks Cemetery.
He was the son of Lewis Adolphus Graeber and Neva Grafton Graeber. He was educated in the Marks Public Schools, and at Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). Except for the four years he spent in the Navy in WW II, stationed at Pearl Harbor, being discharged a Lieutenant Commander, he lived in Marks his entire life.
Mr. Graeber and his brother, the late James Peyton Graeber, and their father founded Graeber Brothers, Inc., in 1937, and also Dixie Gas, Inc., and they farmed Caledonia Plantation. He was an Elder in the Marks Presbyterian Church, a past Moderator of Covenant Presbytery (PCA), a past president of the Marks Rotary Club, being named a Paul Harris Fellow.
He was a member of the Chancellor's Trust at the University of Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Loyalty Foundation, and he and his wife established the Frances and Lewis Graeber Scholarship. Though his wife was an alumnus, he loved to say he was "Ole Miss' biggest walk-on alum".
Mr. Graeber's board memberships included the National Propane Gas Association; the Mississippi LP Gas Association, being elected president twice; French Camp Academy; Belhaven College; LeBonheur Children's Hospital; Mississippi Safety Council; Mississippi Economic Council; Alderman of the City of Marks; Quitman County Planning Commission; Delta Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, receiving the Silver Beaver Award.
Mr. Graeber was cofounder and trustee of the Graeber Foundation. He was a trustee of the Cassidy Foundation, and founder and trustee of the First Marks Cemetery Associtation.
He was a past president of the Clarksdale County Club, and a retired member of the University Club of Memphis.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Frances Clark Graeber; daughter, Geri Graeber Pitts (Henry) of Memphis; sons, Lewis Adolphus Graeber, III of Jackson, John Clark Graeber (Bookie) and William Mims Graeber (Dede) both of Marks; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; a sister, Aleene Graeber Clark (Grady) of Lauderdale; and a brother, Henry Grafton Graeber (Becky) of Oxford.
The family would appreciate memorials to Delta Academy, P.O. Box 70, Marks, MS 38646, or a charity of the donor's choice.