MARIAN EUGENE "GENE" GRAVES, JR., 88, of
Fort Worth, TX passed away on Dec. 19, 2009, with
burial in Granger, TX.
Gene Graves was born Sept. 2, 1921, in Ranger, TX,
one of five children of Marian Eugene & Lula Anna
Hand Graves. He spent the early years of his life
in the Acker Community in Stephens County, where he
attended a one-room schoolhouse. Gene later attended
high school in Ranger in the Class of 1941 and joined
the U.S. Marines. He was medically discharged from the
Marines in 1943 after being wounded in the Battle of
Iwo Jima. Later he attended and graduated from Texas
A&M University, obtaining a master's degree in agri-
cultural education. Gene married Juanita Virginia
Jones in 1946.
Gene became a county extension agent and held positions
in that capacity in Johnson, Grayson, Fannin, & finally
Tarrant counties. During his career, Gene was named one
of the 10 most outstanding county agents in the United
States. He retired from the extension service in 1987
after 38 years of service. He was a member of the First
United Methodist Church of Fort Worth and a 50-year
member of Kiwanis International, as well as a 32nd-
degree Freemason and 50-year member of the Scottish
Rite of Freemasonry.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Juanita
Virginia Jones Graves, in 2004. Survivors: sister, Wanda
Louise Graves Murphy (RHS-1944) and her husband, Bill,
of Canyon Lake; several nieces, nephews and cousins; and
a host of friends.