Jeffrey Graves

Jeffrey Allen Graves age 52 of Keewatin, passed away unexpectedly Sunday,
August 7, 2022 in Hibbing. Jeff was born December 30, 1969 in Virginia, MN to
David and Jewell (Johnson) Graves. At age 3 Jeff and his family relocated to
Keewatin where he attended the Nashwauk- Keewatin schools. He was confirmed
at the Congregation of the Good Shepard in Keewatin. Jeff graduated from high
school in 1988 and following graduation enlisted in the Air Force, he served for
two years and then joined the Air National Guard 148 th Fighter Wing in Duluth
serving for 25 years including multiple deployments during the War in
Afghanistan. On September 30, 1995, Jeff was joined in marriage to Lisa Franz.
Jeff was a member of the VFW and the American Legion; he was Post
Commander for American Legion Post 452 and the 7 th District. Jeff worked at
several places, he was a Volunteer Firefighter for the City of Keewatin and served
as the Chief, worked at the Hibbing Public Utilities, K-Mart, the Nashwauk-
Keewatin School District, Jeff also owned his own business Digger Drains and
was a master plumber with the Local 589 Plumbers Union.
Jeff enjoyed spending time at his hunting shack, deer hunting, gardening, and
tending to his chickens. He loved to write poems and doodle. “Be patient. Have
Compassion … Show that you care for each other. Peace to you all.” -Jeff
Jeff was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Elmer and Alice
Johnson, paternal grandparents, Merlin and Edith Graves, nephew, David Haiman,
mother and father-in-law, MaryAnne and Conrad Franz. He is survived by his
wife, Lisa Graves, sons, Mason (Aubrey Nelson) Graves and Zeb (McKenna
Folstad) Graves, parents Jewell and David, sisters, Robyn (Carl) Jeranek, Wendy (Darrell) Lewis, aunts, uncles and cousins.
A memorial service will be held 11:00 am Saturday, August 27, 2022 at the Keewatin
City Park in Keewatin. Private interment will be held at the MN State Veterans Cemetery in Saginaw, MN. Military honors will be accorded by the Duluth Honor Guard.