Paul Graves

OXFORD - Paul J. Graves, 69, of Old Howarth Road, died Monday, June 11, 2012, at Lanessa Extended Care in Webster. He and his wife, Carol J. (Quillia) Graves, had recently celebrated their 45th year of marriage. Born in Providence, RI, on December 12, 1942, Paul was the son of the late Arthur G. and Alice D. (Kiernan) Graves, Jr. After residing in Hartford, CT, and Worcester for a time, his family moved to Oxford when he was in elementary school. He graduated from Oxford High School in 1961. Paul enlisted in the U.S. Army from September 1961 through September 1964. He was promoted to Specialist 4 in the Eighth U.S. Army, 2nd Field Artillery Regiment. He operated generators that powered the radar bases. He was stationed at Lincoln, MA, and Yongsan, South Korea. After being honorably discharged from active duty, he served three more years in the U.S. Army Reserves. In 1967, Paul married his high school sweetheart, Carol. They had three sons. Paul held many jobs over the course of his life, including door-to-door soda salesman, machinist, punch-card computer operator, truck driver, construction equipment operator, warehouse manager, and land developer. He worked on the construction of Route 52 (now I-395) through Oxford in the mid-1970's. He was a warehouse manager for Stonyfield Farms Yogurt when they were a start-up company in the 1980's. His last full-time job was as warehouse manager for Leon Supply Co. in Worcester from the late 1980's through the mid-2000's, when he retired. Throughout his life, Paul served others - as a lifeguard at the town beach, a civil defense corpsman, volunteer fireman with the Oxford Fire Department, member of the Oxford Housing Authority, member of the Oxford Republican Committee, and in many other roles. He was a regular at Billy's Burg-O-Rama, N&J Donuts, and The Hop. He enjoyed coffee and was an outgoing conversationalist. He had many friends and acquaintances. He collected Oxford memorabilia and supported preserving the town's history. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons and their wives, Paul and Jane Graves of Lawrence, KS, Scott and Jennifer Graves of South Hadley, and David and Melissa Graves of Rochester, NH; a brother and his wife, Richard and Martha Graves of Concord, NH; a sister and her husband, Marcia and Steven Grady of Vernon, CT; sisters-in-law, Janice Graves of Fitchburg, and Shirley Quillia of Webster; seven grandchildren, Elise, Maretta, Emma, Cora, DJ, Angela, and Savannah Graves; as well as cousins, nieces, and a nephew. He was predeceased by a brother, Arthur Graves, III. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, at the Greenville Baptist Church, 674 Pleasant St., Rochdale. Military burial will follow at North Cemetery, Oxford. Memorial calling hours are Monday, June 18, 2012, from 5-8 p.m. at Paradis Funeral Home, 357 Main St., Oxford. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472.