Obituaries for March 12, 2010

Ethel Graven

Ethel Graven, 103, died Feb. 22, 2010, at Payette, Idaho.

There will be no service due to family health issues.

Ethel was born on March 12, 1906, at Hereford to Richard and Hulda Frazie Boyer. She was one of eight children.

She married Elmer Graven on April 12, 1926, to whom she was married for 76 years. Together they raised three daughters: Lavelle Givens, Evelyn Wells, and Delma Robinson.

Ethel and Elmer were both very hard-working people who loved all of their family equally. They settled at Baker City. Ethel was a homemaker and Elmer worked for the Oregon State Highway district. They were from the generation when a handshake was your honor and truth and honesty were just that.

They were members of the Christian Church and enjoyed their Bible studies. They loved to dance and did so until their late 80s. They were very fond of the Buddy Band and the good times they had with their friends and family.

Ethel had many interests. She was a good seamstress on her old treadle Singer sewing machine. She loved making long dresses to wear to the Senior Center dances.

Because she was very frugal and didn’t want to waste anything, some of her dresses had a unique collar, belt, vest, or lace just to use up all of the scraps, her family said. All she had to do was add a bow to her hair and she was ready to go.

She loved flowers and her garden. Her favorite flowers were roses, which was reflected in her selection of dish ware and in her decorating. She was also fond of African violets and grew them in every color.

Ethel’s children will always remember coming home to the smell of fresh bread, ginger cookies, or something else equally as good. Ethel was always known for her buns, which she made often for guests and family gatherings. She also loved rhubarb and gooseberry pie.

Ethel loved people and loved telling stories that would make her husband, Elmer, squirm, her family said. When she got him to grunt, she knew her mission had been accomplished.

She could not pass a baby without stopping to interact. Everyone enjoyed Ethel’s young spirit and humor. She could definitely hold her own in any situation.

You didn’t ask Ethel for her opinion unless you were ready for her frank answer, sometimes more than you were prepared to hear, her family said. Her humor followed her to the nursing home.

Her family tells about one day when she asked a grumpy old man in a wheelchair if she could hitch a ride to her room. When she received an emphatic “no” she turned and said, “He actually took me seriously?”

One of Ethel’s favorite things was talking about her younger years. She would sit up many nights reliving her past. Each time she would tell her stories it was like the first time to her.

“She will be missed terribly, but has left us memories we will treasure always,” her family said.

Ethel spent her final years in the care of the staff of Royal Villa at Payette, Idaho.

“I Love Mom,” her daughter, Evelyn, said.

Survivors include her sister, Pearl Coombs; daughters and their spouses, Evelyn Wells, and her husband, Bob, and Delma Robinson and her husband, Tim; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and many friends. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; six siblings; and one daughter, LaVelle Givens.