NORTHEAST HARBOR – Robert Malcolm Graves, 86, died peacefully March 3, 2011, surrounded by his family at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. He was born June 18, 1924, in Northeast Harbor, the son of Malcolm W. and Lillian V. (Faulkenstrom) Graves.
Bob joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 in Bangor. He served during World War II and was very proud of his service. Arriving home he met his future wife, Sheila Norwood, in Boston. They moved to Northeast Harbor, where Bob worked in plumbing and heating for Hamor & Stanley and CE Wallace Co. In 1972 he started Robert M. Graves Plumbing & Heating, and owned and operated it until his retirement in 1986. Bob’s family was his life. He and his wife took many road trips with their children, and he taught each of his grandchildren how to ice skate. He enjoyed picking his grandchildren up from school each afternoon and giving them a ride home where he would always sing them a little tune. Bob built two camps on Abrams Pond, Franklin, where he loved to go especially if there was a project to be done that involved a hammer. He was a past deacon, trustee and member of Union Congregational Church, Northeast Harbor. He also served as selectman for the town of Mount Desert. He was very talented and enjoyed many hours of woodworking, making furniture for family and carving and painting birds. In later years he made gold lobsters and lobster claws that he enjoyed giving to many people.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sheila (Norwood) Graves; a son, Alan Graves and wife, Doreen; a daughter, Ann Paine and husband, Bill, all of Northeast Harbor; a daughter-in-law, Christine Graves of Tucson, Ariz.; sister, Nancy Trask of Old Saybrook, Conn.; two brothers, Richard Graves and wife, Mary Jane, of Trenton and Malcolm Graves of Lisbon, Conn.; eight grandchildren, Brian Graves and wife, Heather, Melissa Saunders and husband, Keith, Laura Kilko and husband, Thomas, Alicia Paine, Crystal Bonias and husband, Bobby, Heather Brown and husband, Jay, John Paine and Jennifer Graves; eight great-grandchildren, Andrew and Caroline Saunders, Ashley and Brendan Graves, Ella and Tristan Kilko, Fiona Brown and arriving in May, baby Bonias; many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by two sons, John Robert Graves and Steven Ted Graves; and two sisters, Betty Fish and Dorothy Clarke.
Graveside services will be held in the spring at Forest Hill Cemetery, Northeast Harbor. Those who desire may make contributions in Bob’s memory to the Josh Sprague Scholarship Fund, Fist Advisors, P.O. Box 258, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, Mount Desert Nursing Association, P.O. Box 397, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662 or American Heart Association, 51 U.S. Route 1, Suite M, Scarborough, ME 04074. Condolences may be expressed at
www.jordanfernald.com.