Kenneth Graves

Kenneth R. Graves, a pioneer South Florida agriculturist, passed away on December 22 at the age of 93. Born in Miami on October 30, 1932, he was the eldest son of John and Catherine Graves.

Kenneth served in the United States Army before earning a bachelor's degree in Agronomy from the University of Florida, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta. It's also where he met his wife, Nancy. They married in 1957 and shared 63 years together until her passing in 2020.

He began his career with S&M Farm Supply, later founding 27 Farms, where he built a unique and successful business in agriculture. Ken grew sweet corn and multiple varieties of seed corn, sunflower, soybean, and many different varieties of tobacco for seed production. In 1980, he purchased Norman Brothers Produce with partner David Nelson, and later owned Florida Specialties, a produce packing and shipping company.

He was a longtime member of the Florida Farm Bureau as well as the Dade County Farm Bureau, where he remained active, also serving as past president. In 2003, he was honored as Agriculturist of the Year by the Dade County Farm Bureau and the Florida Nurserymen Growers Association.

Kenneth served on the Board of Directors of Community Bank of Homestead. He was a Trustee of Fairchild Tropical Garden for more than 30 years and served on the Board of Trustees of the Montgomery Botanical Center.

He is survived by his daughters, Suzanne, Virginia Schwebach (Todd), Bonnie and his grandchildren, Taylor and Trevor.