William Joseph Pop"""" Graver

William Joseph “Pop” Graver, 81, of Wethersfield, passed away peacefully on Thursday (July 18, 2013) at Salmon Brook Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Glastonbury. Born on September 25, 1931 in Bristol, he was the son of the late Stanley and Josephine Graver. Bill graduated from Bristol High School in 1949 and from Wilton School of Cake Decorating in Chicago, and worked for Woodruff’s Bakery for many years. He also attended Henderson’s Cake and Decorating School in Florida where he received additional training in the art of decorating cakes. Bill was a resident of Wethersfield since 1960 and was a longtime, faithful communicant of Corpus Christi Church. He was the proud owner of Brookside Bake Shop in Hartford from 1958-1988. He had a passion for baking and cooking and was renowned for the “best” babka bread in the Hartford area as well as for his beautifully hand-decorated wedding cakes. All of his children, family members and friends got to work with Bill. After retiring from the bakery in 1988, he took his skills to Graver Tree, where he worked for his son Bruce from 1988 to present. There he taught “the crew” his unique skill for sculpturing trees and shrubs. Always a baker at heart, he worked part-time for Roger’s Bakery in Plainville for several more years. Bill had a passion for flying and was a pilot for many years. He received his pilot’s license and was a member of the Charter Oak Flying Club at Brainard Airport. His favorite plane was a Cherokee, of which he was part-owner. He liked flying his family to Cape Cod, Montauk Point and Ogunquit, ME. His Vermont house was a fun place for him and the family to enjoy skiing and snowmobiling and he loved to ride his tractor. He also loved his 1969 Cougar, riding motorcycles and horseback riding. He was a longtime member and treasurer of Parents Without Partners. A loving father and grandfather, Bill will be dearly missed by his three children, Bruce Graver and his wife Linda of Wethersfield, Brian Graver and Sheila Offutt of Austin, TX and Bonnie McCabe and her husband Michael of Glastonbury; his six adored grandchildren, Michael and Alex Graver, Jaclyn and James McCabe and Arielle and Mimi Offutt and a special great-grandson, Taylor Offutt. He also leaves Barbara Tinder, the mother of his children and longtime friend; his brother, James Graver and his wife Diane and his sister, Eleanor Lewis, all of CA; several nieces and nephews in CA and his dear friend, Mary McKeever. Besides his parents he was predeceased by his brother, Arthur Graver.

Funeral services will be on Monday at 9 a.m. at the D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Blvd., Wethersfield followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Corpus Christi Church, 601 Silas Deane Hwy., Wethersfield. Burial will be in Rose Hill Memorial Park, Rocky Hill. Calling hours will be on Sunday from 3-6 p.m. at the D’Esopo Funeral Chapel. Donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 2075 Silas Deane Hwy., Suite 100, Rocky Hill, CT 06067. For online expressions of sympathy to the family, please visit www.desopo.com.