Alice Deering Graves

Worked To Support Peace And Human Rights

Alice Deering Graves, 88, of Westport, died in her home, November 29. She was born September 4, 1921, in Waterford, Maine, the daughter of Helen (Deering) and Wilson Morse.

She is survived by her husband, Royal, and her two sons, Allan Graves and his wife, Patty, of Newtown and Sandy Graves and his wife, JianQun, of Wethersfield; two grandchildren; a sister; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

She graduated Bridgeton Academy and Westbrook Junior College, and was married at the Yale Chapel, May of 1944.

The Graveses moved to Westport in 1966, where Mrs Graves taught at the Westport-Weston Cooperative Nursery School, retiring in 1987. She spent many hours working in her gardens, and watching birds in her yard. Summers were happily spent at her cottage in Waterford, close to family and surrounded by nature.

She advocated social justice. She marched on Washington, D.C., in 1963 and heard Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, deliver his “I have a Dream” speech; served on the Social Justice Committee at the Unitarian Church in Westport; and protested US involvement in Vietnam and in Iraq. She worked against apartheid in South Africa and for refugees in Darfur. She supported low-income housing in Fairfield County and bootstrap development/microloans through the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA).

The family encourages all friends to gather with them Sunday, December 13, at 5 pm, at the Westport Unitarian Church, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport, to celebrate her life through music, words, and stories. Reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to a worthy cause.

The Newtown Bee       December 11, 2009