Graham C. Hobbs Jr.

1925 - 2016

Graham C. Hobbs, Jr.

Corapeake - Graham Columbus Hobbs, Jr. aged 91, passed away quietly at Elizabeth City Health and Rehab, formerly known as Winslow Memorial on September 24th, 2016. Mr. Hobbs was a lifetime resident of Corapeake, North Carolina and lived his long life on the family farm on Hobbs Lane before his health forced him to move to the facility. Born in the dining room of the farm house of his father and mother in 1925, he was the youngest of five children. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Dorothy Byrum Hobbs, his parents, Eva Barnes Hobbs and Graham C. Hobbs Sr., his brother, Elmer Jarvis Hobbs, sisters, Conrad Hobbs Parish, and Jessie Hobbs Johnsen. His only living sibling is Ella Thomas Hobbs Craig of Anchorage, Alaska where she lives with her three children and their families.

He was a farmer for many years and hated to give it up when economics made that inevitable. Later working over 25 years at the Newport News Ship Yard he retired and spent many happy years hunting deer and fishing the Pasquotank and Chowan Rivers with his son, Chuck and his grandson, Jeremy. He loved the Outer Banks and could honestly catch fish when no one else could find one. He and Dot loved Kitty Hawk and Rodanthe and camped and enjoyed the ocean where they had spent their honeymoon back in 1948. He loved to steam crabs and fry fish and then surf cast at dawn and dusk. His gardening skills were legendary and he kept his father's standards in his mind as he wielded a hoe. The garden bounty and fish and game he grew and cooked were shared with all his neighbors and co- workers as long as he lived at home and he taught his children his love of nature and cooking delicious food.

In final years his battle with dementia was fought with such grace and kindness and humor that the last enduring lesson he left his family rests there. He kept his humor right to the end even when the memories failed him, and his caretakers and roommates learned the wisdom and wit of a remarkable life well lived.

He is survived by his daughter, Donna Hobbs Conner and her husband Michael, his son, Graham C. Hobbs, III ( Chuck) and his wife Phyllis , all of Hobbs Lane, Corapeake, NC and his daughter, Gail Hobbs Page and her husband Daniel of Esmont ,Va. His grandchildren are Jeremy Andrew Conner of Seattle , Washington, and his wife Julie Tobiason and great-grandchildren Audrey and Warren. His granddaughters are Amanda Catherine Conner of Portsmouth, Va. , Meredith Ann Conner of Portsmouth, Va. and Jane Elizabeth Turney and husband Tony of Suffolk, Va. His youngest grandson and namesake, Graham Carter Hobbs currently resides in Huntington, West Va. where he is assistant football coach for Marshall.

A visitation with family and friends for the public will be at Miller Funeral Home in Gatesville, NC on Wednesday, the 28th from 6:30 til 8:00 p.m. Subsequently the immediate family will scatter his ashes at the farm by a beech tree along side his wife and celebrate his life and lessons. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org/donate). Many thanks to the kindness of nurses and staff at Winslow's who provided such care and love.

Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.