Dr. John C. Graves

Graves, Dr. John C., academician, author, opera singer, and activist died suddenly from heart failure on October 13th. He was 65 with residences in Fort Lauderdale and Provincetown. Dr. Graves recently received the Philanthropist of the Year Award in Fort Lauderdale in 2001 and was slated to receive the Humanitarian of the Year Award this coming November. He was the current president of the Board of Trustees of the Stonewall Library and Archives in Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Graves was born and raised in New York City in 1938. He graduated from Collegiate School in 1956, where he received the Head Boy Award. He went on to Princeton to graduate Magna Cum Laude in 1960. While there, Dr. Graves was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society and majored in physics. Dr. Graves received a PhD in Philosophy front Princeton, where he published his thesis, "Conceptual Foundations of Contemporary Relativity". From 1964 to 1974, Dr. Graves was an assistant professor of philosophy of science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Graves was later a visiting professor at Brown University, and after that began a career as a psychotherapist in Boston and Fort Lauderdale, respectively. One of Dr. Graves' favorite passions was music. He served on the board of directors of many Boston musical institutions, among them the Boston Concert Opera and the Boston Lyric Opera. A lyric tenor, Dr. Graves also sang solos and was a member of choruses in Boston, Provincetown and Fort Lauderdale for over 30 years. Dr. Graves first became active in service to the gay community via student organizations at MIT in 1972. In 1974, he founded the Gay Academic Union of New England. He also served as a psychotherapist to the Homophile Community Health Service in Boston. In 1990, Dr. Graves moved to Fort Lauderdale and immediately became involved in the community. He served on many boards and donated both his time and his money to the Stonewall Library and Archives and the Sunshine Cathedral. Dr. Graves is survived by his sister, Emily Graves Jones of Cos Cob, CT; his three nieces, Virginia Graves Jones, Catherine Bailey Jones, Leila Jones Shields; a great nephew, William Halverson; and his partner in life, Raymond Trevino. Visitation is scheduled for Friday, October 17th from 5 P.M. to 8 P.M. at FRED HUNTER FUNERAL HOME, 718 South Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale. The funeral service will be on Saturday, October 18th at 10:30 a.m. at the Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 SW 9th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Stonewall Library and Archives or the Sunshine Cathedral.