Baker City, Oregon
Elmer W. Graven, 96, of Baker City died Dec. 25, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His graveside funeral will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Ralph Holcomb of the Baker City Christian Church will officiate. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Elmer was born on Nov. 27, 1906, at Richland to Clinton and Callie Rose Graven. In his early years he worked various jobs. He hauled fruit from Eagle Valley with his brother, worked at the sawmill in Baker City and also worked for the railroad.
He married Ethel Boyer on April 24, 1926. Together they celebrated 76 years of marriage.
In the early 1940s he went to work at Hereford for the Oregon State Highway Department, retiring as a foreman after 37 years of service. Elmer also ranched during this time at Hereford after purchasing the family ranch from the Boyers.
To Elmer, his family always came first, no matter what his own needs might have been. He was the patriarch of his large family and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Survivors include his wife, Ethel, of Baker City; three daughters, LaVelle Givens of Baker City, Evelyn Wells and her husband, Bob, of Payette, Idaho, and Delma Robinson and her husband, Tim, of Baker City; 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Mitchalene Bacon of Warrenton; and a brother, Calvin Graven, of California.
He was preceded in death by his infant son, Richard; three brothers and two sisters.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, December 30, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor