Mary Corine Graves

Mary Corine Clinkingbeard Graves
March 6, 1929 – May 31, 2012
Mary Graves of Mountain Home passed away Thursday, May 31, 2012. She was born in Sleepy Cat Holler (Custer) near Clinkingbeard Point on March 6, 1929 to Cora Etta and Adlie Brundage Clinkingbeard. In 1950 she married Floyd Graves, who was living in Mountain Home working on the Bull Shoals Dam, and left Arkansas shortly thereafter for the next 55 years, returning periodically to visit family, and ultimately returning to Mountain Home in 2005. During their lives together they lived in sixteen states, five countries, and through the years called 59 addresses home.
Whenever moving to a new place one of the very first orders of business was to find a Southern Baptist Church, which was sometimes easier said than done. In those places where Baptist churches didn’t exist or Christianity was highly discouraged she kept her faith and sought out other believers. Family was also important to Mary. Whenever moving or traveling on vacation, she would always look in the local phone book to see whether there were any Clinkingbeards there. When she would find one, she would call them and see if or how they were related.
Mary was a woman of many talents. In addition to being a wife, mother, and grandmother she was an accomplished artist, a writer chronicling her world travels, and a master of several handcrafts including sewing and knitting. She also had a clever wit, was a voracious reader, and story teller. In all her endeavors she gave of herself; she taught others to knit, sew, and paint.
Mary is survived by her two sons, Floyd Duane Graves of Mountain Home and Roger Dean Graves and wife Peggy of Houston, Texas; six grandsons: Dustin Tyler Graves of San Jose, California, Nicholas Hunter Graves of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jacob Nathaniel Graves of Campbell, California, Peter Brundage Graves of Houston, Robert Fitzalan Graves of Midland, Texas, and Patrick O’Beirne Graves of College Station, Texas; her sister Margaret Phillips of Belton, Missouri and two brothers Jim Clinkingbeard and wife Billie of Calico Rock, and Wayne Clinkingbeard and wife Jan of Cotter; many nieces and nephews; and many friends around the world cultivated over a lifetime of travel and living abroad.
Mary dearly loved her family and friends. She will be missed but all who knew her should take comfort that she fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. She is in the presence of her Saviour and reunited with her husband of sixty-one years, her parents, a brother, a sister, and many others who preceded her in death.
Visitation will be held beginning at 11:00 am, Tuesday, June 5th at Roller Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life Service will be conducted by Reverend Tommy Cunningham beginning at 1:00 pm with a graveside service for the family to follow.
[In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Hospice of the Ozarks, 701 Burnett Drive, Mountain Home, AR 72653.]