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Elizabeth Graves Obituary
She was born November 26, 1940, in Iowa City, Iowa. Her parents were Ernest O. Nybakken and Elizabeth Hamlin Nybakken. Shortly after Elizabeth's birth, her parents moved first to New York City, then North Canaan, Connecticut, and Burlington, CT.
Elizabeth attended public schools in Farmington, CT, and graduated from Farmington High School. She was named Miss Farmington High.
Her Bachelors Degree was awarded by Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota; her Masters Degree in secondary education from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, and her PhD in History from the University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
After joining the faculty of the Department of History at Mississippi State University, Elizabeth met her husband, William H. Graves. They were not only University colleagues, but also both attended Trinity Presbyterian Church in Starkville, where they were married.
After Elizabeth retired from Mississippi State University, the Graves moved to Norfolk, VA, and Omaha, NE, before full retirement at Bermuda Village, Bermuda Run, NC.
The Graves marriage of 47 years and 11 months was blessed with a daughter, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Graves Shaw, wife of Lt. Col (ret.) Charles Cronin Shaw, USAF, and two grandchildren, Cady Cronin Shaw, and Patrick Grady Shaw.
Additional surviving family members include a sister, Mrs. Lorna Nybakken, and nieces Beth Levesque, Coleen Sullivan, Katie Nybakken, and nephew Shawn Sullivan.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Chapel in the Clubhouse of Bermuda Village, Bermuda Run, NC at 2:00 PM, December 20, 2025, with Dr. Randy Harris, minister of Highland Presbyterian Church, Winston-Salem, NC officiating.
Interment will occur May 2026 in Mountain View Cemetery, North Canaan, CT. The family requests no flowers. Memorials may be sent to the Presbyterian Historical Society, Post Office Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700
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Bobbie White
December 25, 2025
Sorry for your loss Dr. Graves. I worked for you in 1985
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Bobbie White
adreanne good
December 23, 2025
my condolences go out to the family a beautiful person with a heart of gold riheavenly peace gone but never forgotten
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