By Jerry Ratcliffe
Jimmy Graves, who hosted Virginia basketball and other sports camps for years and was a great friend of UVA athletics, passed away earlier this week, surrounded by his family.
Graves, born in 1936, owned the famous Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, which is in nearby Madison County.
The funeral service will be held at Hebron Lutheran Church in Madison on Thursday at 11 a.m., followed by committal at the church cemetery. The Graves family invites everyone to join them in celebrating Jimmy’s life at a reception at the Lodge after the service.
Virginia’s basketball program is forever indebted to Jimmy and his family for its support over the decades, particularly in hosting the Cavaliers’ summer basketball camp there in the 1970s through the 1980s. Graves formed a strong bond with UVA coach Terry Holland and his staff along with players throughout that era.
Hundreds, if not more, campers from ages 8 to 16, came through those camps and many of them formed life-long relationships with the Graves family.
Jeff Jones, who played for Holland and succeeded him as head coach of the Cavaliers, remembered Graves for the complete man he was and his hospitality to all.
“Jimmy Graves was a unique person in that usually you don’t think about people being really tough as nails and also being unbelievably kind, but that was Jimmy,” Jones said Wednesday. “He was salt of the earth, blue collar, hard-working. He was also a shrewd business man.
“More than anything, Jimmy and his family were extremely kind with the hospitality they showed their guests at the lodge. We all saw that first-hand as players and coaches. He fed us, welcomed us, took care of us.”
Jones said that as the sad news of Graves’ passing spread throughout the Cavaliers’ basketball community, there was nothing but love shown for Jimmy and his wife, Rachel, of 62 years.
Jones, who worked the Virginia camps at Graves Mountain as a counselor, said to this day he has grown men approach him and say, “Do you recognize this picture?”
“These guys are in their 30s and 40s and I had been their counselor in the ‘80s,” Jones said.
Graves is survived by Rachel and sons James “Lucky” Graves, Jr. (Missy), Lynn Graves (Tricia); grandchildren James Graves III (fiance Olivia), Zoe Herring (Miles), Amelia Adams (Logan), William Graves (fiance Lane), Cole Graves; and great-grandchildren Jacqueline Herring and Roslyn Herring.
Jimmy was raised in Syria and graduated from Madison County High School, and attended a postgraduate year at Woodberry Forest. After earning a BS degree in agricultural economics at Virginia Tech and two years in the armed services, he returned to Madison to carry on the family tradition of hospitality and farming.
While growing up, Jimmy played baseball at Madison County, in the Valley League and at Virginia Tech. He also played while in Germany. When he returned home he announced games during Eddie Dean’s era as head football coach at Madison County.
Jimmy and Rachel started Graves Mountain Lodge in 1965. They were both huge sports fans and offered much support to both Virginia and Virginia Tech.
This site will have more on the life of Jimmy Graves and his love of UVA athletics following Thursday’s events.
