TUSCUMBIA – Lt. Col. Arthur Graves will share the infamous “Will Reynolds Incident” as part of the Tuscumbia Bicentennial Commission’s Bicentennial Speaker Series.
Lt. Col. Graves will speak at 10 am at Coldwater Books in Tuscumbia on Saturday, February 23, 2019. This is the second in a series of historical talks hosted by the Tuscumbia Bicentennial Commission. The event is free and open to the public.
Lt. Col. Graves is a graduate of Trenholm High School and Tuskegee University. He earned a Master’s degree from Tennessee State University and the Ed.S from the University of North Alabama. In 1949, he began his teaching career as a public school teacher at the Old Courtland Colored High School, where he served for one year, and later taught at Decatur High School for one year. While living in Lawrence County, he began working for his uncle, Mr. George Reynolds, at Reynolds Funeral Home in Decatur, Alabama. Mr. Graves then entered the United States Air Force and remained in the service for twenty years. Upon retirement from the Air Force, he taught fourteen years at the University of North Alabama, three of those years as Assistant to the President. In 1981, he saw the opportunity to fulfill his lifelong aspiration to own his own business. So, he purchased Thompson and Son Funeral Home, which he and his family have owned and operated for over thirty years. He is also the developer of A.D. Graves Subdivision, Hwy 20, Hillsboro, Alabama.
Lt. Col. Arthur D. Graves received his commission in 1949 after completing Air Force ROTC at Tuskegee Institute and
Lt. Col. Arthur Graves
entered active service in 1951. His stateside service includes Primary Pilot Training, Hondo AFB Texas and Basic Pilot Training, Reese AFB Texas and duty assignments in Laredo AFB Texas; Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama; Brookley AFB, Mobile, Alabama; Eglin AFB, Florida. His foreign service includes Moulin AFB, France; Daharan AFB, Saudi Arabia; Clark AFB, Philippine Islands; Headquarters Southern Command, Panama Canal Zone.
Mr. Graves is a charter member of the Shoals Industrial Development Authority, former director of American Educators Life Insurance Company and Mutual Savings Life Insurance Company, former member of the UNA President’s Cabinet and the Colbert County Democratic Executive Committee, and member of the NAACP, the Alabama Democratic Conference, the Trenholm High School Reunion Executive Committee, and the Shoals Tuskegee Alumni Club. He served for two years on the Alabama Board of Funeral Service.
Mr. Graves is a devoted member of Lesley Temple C.M.E. Church, where he is proudly the oldest male member of the church. He serves on the Steward Board and is a Sunday school teacher. He is also the host of his Sunday morning radio program on WZZA.
He is married to Mrs. Jean Long Graves, and they are the parents of three children: Dr. Lisa Graves Minor (Julian), Professor Emerita of English at the University of North Alabama, Atty. Kenneth D. Graves (Tamekia), Chief Legal Officer for Huntsville Hospital, and the late Atty. Sherri Graves Smith (William). They are the proud grandparents of two, Leslie Minor and Kristen Graves.
His life is one of service to God, to family, to country, to community, and to others.
Media Release/Lorie Johnson, Ph.D
Co-Chair, Tuscumbia Bicentennial Commission
