Sue Lain Hunt Graves

The daughter of Walter and Flossie (Patton) Hunt, Sue Lain was born in Trenton, on September 7, 1940. At the age of five, she began learning to play piano. She graduated from Peabody High School in 1958, and received a bachelor’s degree in music with a minor in English from Union University in 1962. She subsequently did graduate work studying piano at Florida State, and obtained a teaching certificate at what was then Memphis State University. In 1965, she married Roy Neil Graves. They lived in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she taught elementary school at New London Academy and later became a teacher at Dunbar High School, a segregated Black school. She was active in the civil rights movement, and participated in public protests on several occasions, even during her first pregnancy. After the birth of their first child, Anna, in 1969, Sue Lain and Neil relocated to Martin, Tennessee, to be closer to family in West Tennessee. Their son Ben was born in 1971, and Molly followed in 1973. She raised all three children in Martin, where she also worked for the Northwest Counseling Center and the University of Tennessee at Martin Writing Lab, after she and Neil divorced in 1982. She also served as the musical director for many Vanguard Theatre productions at UTM during the 1980s and 1990s.

Sue Lain had a wonderfully quirky sense of humor. She was passionate about a wide range of music–from Stephen Sondheim to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, along with the classical piano repertory she studied. She had a soft spot for animals, particularly cats and dogs. She cared deeply for many causes, and donated frequently to local, national, and international charities. On many occasions, she provided direct assistance to individuals in need, and she consistently embodied kindness and empathy. She was a staunch supporter of the Democratic party, and a social justice warrior long before that phrase was in use. She instilled many of these qualities in her children in various ways—she brought Anna with her to help stuff envelopes for Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign; on Halloween, she encouraged them to raise money trick or treating for Unicef; she sometimes sent them to school with extra sandwiches to share in case other kids were hungry; and she encouraged their interests in artistic pursuits, such as theater, school bands, and the visual arts.

Sue Lain was preceded in death by her parents and several close friends, including her best friend since childhood, Bettye Sue Taylor. She is survived by her children—Anna; Ben, wife Kathy, and granddaughter Olivia; Molly and her partner Mathew Meunier—and her brother Walter Hunt III.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Doctors Without Borders, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or a local food bank.