Posted: 7/16/03

Marion Graves, lived for family, FL parade

In her 75 years of life in Forest Lake, Marion Graves always took pride in family and the communityís Fourth of July parade.

ìShe had only missed one parade,î said her daughter, Norma Jean Morley, commenting of her motherís love of Forest Lakeís parade.

Graves, who recently moved to Birchwood Health Care Center to recuperate from a fall, was dressed and ready for the parade on July 4th when she decided she did not feel well enough to go. Four days later Graves passed away.

She was 101.

Graves was born on Friday, March 13, 1902 in Mallard, IA. She grew up in Spirit Lake, IA, and lived in Wisconsin before moving to Minnesota and Forest Lake in 1928 with her husband, Harvey, a herdsman for Taylor Farms dairy.

From then on, she was a regular at the American Legionís annual Independence Day parade, missing just one parade from 1928 through 2002, her daughter said.

Community and family were keys to her life, Morley said.

Throughout her life, she utilized her talent in sewing by making clothes for grandchildren and for her daughter when she was in school here.

In 1930, Graves became a founding member of the Happy Homemakers Club, a civic organization that made quilts and raised money for charities such as the American Cancer Society.

She was the last surviving charter member of the club and still attended the annual meetings of the group, now made up of daughters and grand-daughters of the founders.

She was also one of the first women in the area to join the American Legion Unit 225 Auxiliary here.

In addition to her family life, she worked at the arms plants in Arden Hills during World War II. She was a waitress in the area for many years, too, working at Forest Hills Golf Club, and Wallyís Cafe, the Santa Fe Broiler and the Forlum Inn, three restaurants that are now part of Forest Lakeís past.

Her ability to live a long life may have resulted from her lifestyle, her daughter said.

ìClean living,î Morley said. ìShe never smoked or drank. She was a marvelous cook, so she ate healthy.î

A funeral service for Marion Marie Graves was Sunday, July 13 at Faith Lutheran Church, Forest Lake. Interment was at Scandinavian Cemetery.

She is survived by one daughter, Norma Jean (Malcolm) Morley, Forest Lake; five grandchildren and many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and one niece and four nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harvey Graves in 1984; one son from a previous marriage, Ilo ìStubbyî Emerson in 1983; and two sisters, Margaret and Lena.

Memorials are preferred to Faith Lutheran Church or the American Cancer Society.

Top of Page