Graves dies from COVID

A Humboldt alderman has passed away from complications brought on by COVID. Don Graves died last Friday.

Few details  of his death were available at press time on Monday.

Alderman Graves served two terms on the Humboldt City Board, first elected in 2013, then re-elected in 2017. He served Ward 3 in Humboldt and had qualified to run for a third term in the upcoming November 2 election.

Prior to retiring, Graves was owner and operator of Graves Auto Parks on 13th Ave. in Humboldt.

Graves, having served in the Army during the Vietnam War, returned to Humboldt to join the family business, Graves Auto Supply, begun by his father Bob Graves and uncle Aaron Graves. As a business owner for 35 years, he has been very active in the community, serving on the Humboldt Industrial Bond Board, as president of the Humboldt Jaycees, and as president and regional chair of the Humboldt Lion’s Club. He is also a retired deputy from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and was a certified instructor of automotive technology at Liberty High School.

Graves has been a member of the Humboldt Lion’s Club for 27 years. He has been honored as Lion of the Year, Lion of the Decade, was the recipient of the Mid-South Lion’s Edwin Dalstrom Distinguished Service Award, and by the Lion’s Club International Foundation’s Melvin Jones Fellow for dedicated humanitarian service.

In his 2017 election announcement in the Chronicle, Graves said, “We have a close knit community of dedicated people working to strengthen and enhance this town. We all want to make Humboldt a town where people want to live, work, and educate their families. We want people driving through to stop and eat and shop and think, ‘Hey, this is a pretty town, let’s check out living here’.”

“I love this town. I have always been involved in community events. This is my home and I want the honor of continuing to work for my ward and all our citizens.”