Virginia Graves

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Virginia Jane Graves Obituary (2022) - Pryor, Oklahoma (gather.app)

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, November 3, 2022 in the Shipman's Funeral Home Chapel. After the memorial service, there will be a time of visitation and sharing of memories.

Virginia Jane (Harrison) Graves was born on October 21, 1933 in Vinita, Oklahoma. She was the 4^th of 9 children born to Grover Cleveland Harrison and Mable Vicena (Wright) Harrison. She passed peacefully from this life on Thursday, October 27, 2022 in Broken Arrow at the age of 89 years and 6 days.

Her family made their home at 224 N. Wilson in Vinita. Though small and modest by today’s standards, 224 N. Wilson became home to 5 military veterans, 4 valedictorians / salutatorians, a doctor, a pharmacist and a registered nurse. Virginia graduated in 1951 as Salutatorian of Sacred Heart Academy, a private Catholic school in Vinita, where she was active in basketball, tennis, swimming, school plays and choir, where she learned to sing in Latin.

During her high school years, she worked at the downtown movie theater in Vinita. It was there she met her future husband, who would come from Pryor on the weekends to drive her home when she closed the box office, even though she only lived 2 blocks down the street. She married Emory Burl Graves on August 25, 1951 at the First Baptist Church in Pryor, Oklahoma. They made their home in Pryor until her husband was drafted and she moved back to the family home at 224 N. Wilson. Following her husband’s discharge, they settled in Pryor for the remainder of their 61 years of marriage.

Virginia was a stay-at-home mother with 3 children prior to work in the Principal’s Office at Whitaker State Children’s Home. She subsequently moved to the Assistant Superintendent’s Office and later to the Superintendent’s office for Pryor Public Schools. She taught 2^nd grade Sunday School for 20+ years at the First Baptist Church in Pryor and also worked many years as a poll worker for the Mayes County Election Board.

She is survived by two sons, Chris and Terri (Elrod) Graves of Pryor, Kevin and Randie (Ary) Graves of Broken Arrow, one daughter, Leslie and Norman Trogdon of Pryor, grandchildren, Wade Graves, Chad Graves, Leigh Grandinette, Dawn Sanders, her sister, Thelma Harris, sister-in-law, Mrs. Bill Harrison (Joanie) and brother-in-law, Scott Secondine.

She was preceded in death by her husband Burl Graves, her parents, five brothers Grover Cleveland, John Austin, Louis James, Robert Edward (Bob), William Allen (Bill), and two sisters, Evelyn Sue Jones and Mable Joyce Secondine.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.