Marjorie "ROSE" Graves

Marjorie ‘ROSE’ Graves was born in Summerfield, Kansas on June 27, 1928. Her father was William F. Palmer, a widower with 2 grown daughters and 1 grown son. He was a carpenter and had come to Summerfield to build the new high school. Her mother was Zella Grubb Brown, a widow with a grown son and daughter. She was the co-owner of the hotel where William stayed. William and Zella married in 1915 and had 4 children together. Their children were Jim, Glen, Lydia, and Rose.

Rose graduated from Summerfield High School and attended one semester at Tarkio College. She returned home to teach in a rural school for a couple of years.

On April 30, 1947, she married Jack Darrell Graves. They lived on a farm near Burchard, NE, raising crops, cattle and chickens. Their first two children, Jacquelynn (Jackie) and Richard (Dick)were born while they were living on the farm. Jack had been trained in radio communication, repair, and technology while serving in the Navy during World War II. They had the opportunity to move to Beatrice, Nebraska where Jack worked for and then purchased a radio, TV, and appliance repair company that remained in business until his death in 1982.

Rose and Jack had three more children after moving to Beatrice. Jane Elizabeth was stillborn and a few years later Ronald and then Michael were born. Rose was very proud of the fact that her children ‘were good kids and students’, participating in school and community activities and they all graduated from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Rose was very committed to volunteer work around Beatrice. She was an involved member of the First Presbyterian Church, the YWCA, a woman’s service sorority, her children’s schools, and many other volunteer opportunities throughout the community. She was a wonderful seamstress and had the ability to make old things look brand new. She maintained a lovely home and was an excellent cook. As her children grew up and started leaving home, she moved on from her career as a successful homemaker to working for a savings and loan company that became known as American Charter.

When Jack was 58 years old, he passed away from colon cancer. Her company had transferred the business to Lincoln, Nebraska, and after a couple of years of commuting back-and-forth each day, she made the permanent move to Lincoln. Her son, Dick, built her a home near Wesleyan University where she lived for over 30 years. Her house and yard were always immaculate and her yard was full of beautiful plants and flowers. She mowed her own yard until she was 85 years old.

American Charter eventually closed their doors and she went to work for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture as a temporary employee. The department liked her work so much that they offered her a full-time job. She did clerical work for the Ag department as well as test local farmers who needed licensing to use chemicals on their farms. She enjoyed working at the Ag department so much that she did not retire until the age of 75.

Besides loving to work in her garden, she also liked making Christmas cookies and candies. Everyone who was on her ‘Christmas treat box’ list, looked forward to receiving their gift each year! She made time to visit local public schools in Lincoln and read to the students. Rose enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, bingo three times a week with her special bingo friends, and word searches. She loved her family, her friends, Neil Diamond, ice cream and WINE! In nice weather she would sit out on the deck with breadcrumbs for the birds and sip her glass or 2 of wine. Cousin Jane came regularly for Wine Wednesday or to work on a puzzle.

Rose was fiercely independent having become a widow at the age of 54. She managed her life and home well until a stroke at the age of 95 changed her health and made her unable to live independently at home.

Rose then moved to an assisted living facility in Overland Park, Kansas to be closer to family. Sadly, a terrible fall caused her mental decline and she became confined to a wheelchair. At that point, she moved to Evergreen Community, a wonderful nursing care residence that has just recently moved into a brand new facility. Evergreen was a wonderful place for Rose to live out her days. They took such excellent care of her until her death. She had a usual evening with dinner in the dining room and then back to her room to rest. During a routine check, she was found to have peacefully passed in her sleep on June 17, 2026.

She is survived by her children Jackie Meyer (Mark) of Overland Park, KS, Ron Graves (Amy) of Chesterfield, MO, Mike Graves (Valerie) of Chelmsford, MA, 7 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, and three very dear and special friends, Darlene Kieffer and Mary Borer, co-workers who always cared, were there for her, and kept in touch, and neighbor, Mark Walters, who was there to help anytime, especially during Covid. They enjoyed good visits over the fence in their backyards. We also want to include and thank cousins Gary and Jane Meyer, who lived close and treated Rose like she was their family. They were wonderful to her in so many ways.

With the exception of a few nieces and nephews, she was preceded in death by all other direct family members including her husband Jack, son, Dick , daughter, Jane Elizabeth , and Dick’s son, Jonathan.

Despite the many difficulties and heartbreaks Rose encountered in life, she always found a way to look for the happy moments. For Rose, those moments came in the form of ice cream and glasses of wine; often together, and it could be morning, noon, or night!

No funeral arrangements are planned at this time.