George C. Gravlee Jr.

George C. Gravlee, Jr., 84, of West Hartford, CT, passed away peacefully on February 5, 2024. He was born in Gadsden, AL on January 20, 1940 to G. Clarence and Julia Rudisill Gravlee. He moved with his family to California in 1949 and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1963 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. During his college years he enjoyed playing trumpet in the CAL Marching & Straw Hat Bands and it was at Berkeley that he met the love of his life and wife of 61 years, Diane Druin. They were married on September 8, 1962.
He spent his career with the U.S. Geological Survey as a Hydrologist with the Water Resources Division. He worked in offices in Sacramento, CA, Milford, PA, Columbus, OH, and Albany, NY, and retired in 1994. George always lived with purpose and care for others, and this was demonstrated in the ways he spent his time outside of work. While living in Milford, he was the Scoutmaster of the local Boy Scout troop, and in Albany, he volunteered with the Albany Mediation Dispute Association as a mediator. Upon retirement, he became the Construction Manager for Capital District Habitat for Humanity in Albany, NY for a year, and also volunteered as a driver for the Town of Bethlehem Senior Citizens Van for several years.
But he spent most of his retirement traveling the U.S. with Diane in their motor home. For much of this time they volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and the Fuller Center for Housing. They helped build houses in all 50 states, with George often carrying his blue clipboard and overseeing the construction. For that work, they were honored with the George H. W. Bush Daily Point of Light award in 2015. Together they also enjoyed exploring family histories and in their travels they sought out and photographed the gravestones of all their direct ancestors as well as many distant cousins. After living full time in their motor home from 1999 to 2005, they bought a house in Greenwood, SC as a travel base, but still enjoyed time on the road, visiting with their children and grandchildren, exploring national parks, enjoying the fellowship of the habitat Care-A-Vanner community, and living a life of service. In
September of 2019, they moved to West Hartford, CT to be near family.
George was a member of the West Hartford United Methodist Church, American Society of Civil Engineers, CAL Alumni Association, CAL Engineers, and was a licensed Professional Engineer in Ohio. He was known to the family as someone who could repair anything and he enjoyed doing so, volunteering to help with everything from minor fixes to larger home projects, and always having valued advice for troubleshooting. He and Diane also enjoyed square dancing, and he was known for his very dry humor and teasing nature, which endeared him to all of his grandchildren.
George is survived by his wife, Diane Druin Gravlee; his brother John Gravlee (Charlotte) of San Luis Obispo, CA; his son Scott Gravlee (Tiffany) of Alliance, OH; his daughter Brenda Barch (Gary) of Simsbury, CT, and his 4 grandchildren: Noah Deans-Gravlee (Alex), Benjamin Gravlee (Aviva Blonder), Eric Barch, and Kevin Barch.
Donations can be made to the Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner Program, c/o D. Laird, 322 Lamar St., Americus, GA. 31709. A Celebration of Life service will be held on March 8, 2024 at 1:30 at the West Hartford United Methodist Church, 1358 New Britain Ave, with burial later in the Stockbridge Town Cemetery in Stockbridge, MA. The family thanks the staff at both Brookdale Chatfield and Hospice Accent Care for the wonderful care he received.