Lady of the Lake Hospital. At 79, John worked at a pace of many half his
age, ever chasing one more win. Strong, visionary and always teaching,
“JAG’s” legacy will loom as large as his once-commanding presence.
Born in Baton Rouge in 1941, John Graves moved to Opelousas graduating
from AIC, now Opelousas Catholic, where he was involved with Student
Government, played football and basketball and ran track until suffering a
back injury that would continually haunt him, but it was the death of his
father while he was in high school that would deepen his resolve and shape
John’s life.
John Graves rose from humble beginnings - working full-time while in
school, including as a rodman surveying the Bonnet Carre Spillway. John
graduated LSU with a BS in Civil Engineering and joined Edward E. Evans
& Associates in May 1965, the same month his wife Cynthia gave birth to
their first of five children. Believing in a well-rounded education, John
continued his post-graduate studies in business at LSU, then worked with
the College of Engineering to create more well-rounded students. John had
great admiration for Mr. Evans, and it seems the feeling was mutual as Mr.
Evans placed John in charge of the firms’ operations at the age of 29 and in
1986 sold to John what would become Evans-Graves Engineers. Today it is
virtually impossible to travel through south Louisiana without seeing John
Graves’ impact - from the Maravich Assembly Center and neighborhoods
across Baton Rouge including Country Club of Louisiana to the John J
Audubon Bridge, from Cortana Mall to the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans, as
his influence on the landscape endures. John Graves’ legacy continues in
the engineering community, as there is a “tree” of former Evans-Graves
Engineers populating many of south Louisiana’s top firms. Of all of his
projects, John’s greatest achievement was the levee rebuild following
Hurricane Katrina, the largest Civil Works Program in US history, his scope
that was completed on time time and under budget under John’s direction.
He published The Fortress Of New Orleans documenting the project.
John supported the causes for which he felt strongly - most recently
serving on the boards of the LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department, including eight years as Chair, Pennington Biomedical
Research Center, B1Bank and St. Joseph’s Academy as well as a parishioner
at Our Lady of Mercy. Not always serious, John relished his time in the
Baton Rouge Roundtable where he served as President, riding with the
Krewe of Bacchus and commingling at the City Club of Baton Rouge. John
loved LSU and was proud to have been inducted into both the LSU Civil and
Environmental Engineering (2009) and LSU College of Engineering (2016)
Halls of Distinction.
John Graves’ legacy lives not only in the Louisiana landscape, but also in
his family as his children have gone to enjoy success in their own rights in
business, medicine and politics. While JAG was always more challenging to
his own children, he was extremely proud of each always introducing them
to clients and friends. JAG loved family gatherings - employing Christmas,
Mardi Gras, LSU football and any other excuse for food - particularly
desserts - wine and fun.
John Graves is survived by his wife of 56 years, Cynthia Sliman Graves, five
children and nine grandchildren: Angelle Graves Hamilton and her
husband Art, of Atlanta, Dr. Kurt Graves and his wife Alysia, Ashlyn Graves
White and her husband Randy of New Orleans, Congressman Garret Graves
and his wife Carissa and Katelin Graves Walker and her husband Lee of
Memphis, and his sister Patricia Graves Gray and her husband Chuck of
Houston. Grandchildren include Madelyn Graves, Conner Graves, Reily
Hamilton, Ralston Graves, Graves Hamilton, Kadence Walker, Calla Graves,
Lena Mathile Walker and Kulshan Graves. He was preceded in death by his
mother Lena Courville Graves and his father William Roscoe Graves who
graciously prepare for his arrival.
To our Evans-Graves family, we are ever-grateful for your commitment,
love and support in helping establish JAG’s great legacy. We are also
appreciative of the doctors and nurses at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital
who provided excellent care to John in his final days.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to Our Lady of Mercy
Church, 445 Marquette Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, Pennington
Biomedical Research Foundation, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA
70808 or LSU Foundation - Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering.
There will be a Celebration of Life on Thursday, January 21 at Our Lady of
Mercy Catholic Church at 10:30am, preceded by visitation at 9am. The
service will also be live-streamed on Our Lady of Mercy’s Facebook page.
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