Bobby N Graven

Bobby N. “Bob” Graven, 91, of Seymour, Missouri, passed away peacefully on Friday August 9, 2024, at home, surrounded by loving family.

Bob was born on August 28, 1932, in Manes, Missouri, to Noah Napoleon Graven and Bertha Ellen (McRoberts) Graven. Growing up on a farm in Northern Wright County during the depression, Bob considered himself lucky because his family grew food in the garden, butchered hogs, had a smokehouse for curing meat, had cows for milk and butter, and kept chickens for eggs. As a teenager, Bob shouldered the responsibility for taking care of the farm. He hand-milked six cows, chopped wood, and fed animals before school.

Education always meant a great deal to Bob. Because of the long walk, Bob did not start school until he was 7 years old. He walked three miles across fields to school at Evening Shade Elementary. To go to 7th and 8th grade, Bob rode a horse to Montgomery School. To attend high school, he walked two miles to catch the bus, then rode 20 miles to school. A superior athlete, Bob ran track and played football, lettering in both sports all four years. Bob graduated from Mountain Grove High School in 1951. He received a scholarship to Springfield College of Commerce. To attend college 84 miles from the farm, Bob caught a ride with a local store owner on Mondays to Mountain Grove, then hitchhiked wearing his letter jacket to Springfield. He repeated the process on Fridays to return home to take care of the farm.

After graduating from business school in 1952, Bob took the civil service test and went to work at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. In 1955, Bob returned to Missouri, working at Fort Leonard Wood and living back on the farm. Eventually he became a full-time dairy farmer. Then in 1969, Bob got his broker’s license to sell real estate as well as a license to sell insurance, opening his first office on the square in Mountain Grove. Deciding insurance was not for him, Bob focused on real estate and let the insurance side of the business go. At its height, Graven Realty had 19 offices with 140 agents in 15 counties in Southwest Missouri. In 1988, Bob became an auctioneer and a car dealer. He maintained his real estate and car dealer license until 2023.

There is little Bob could not do. He maintained a huge garden every year, could outwork someone half his age, and doing most of the work himself built an add-on to his home including electrical wiring at the age of 69. An avid hunter and fisherman, Bob always took time off to hunt deer, quail, and pheasant and fished many bodies of water around the Ozarks. A member of Fordland Church of Christ, Bob loved his church family and believed deeply in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Bob married Rita Zimmerman January 5, 1998, and they were inseparable for the next 26 years, working together as well as combining their respective families into one harmonious unit. These were undoubtedly the happiest years of Bob’s life. Bob loved his family and considered his children and grandchildren to be his greatest accomplishment. He treasured the time spent with them. 

He will be deeply and forever missed by his wife, Rita, of the home, his children, Daniell Graven of Farmington, Missouri, Bobby Graven and wife, Chris, of Nixa, Missouri, Gayla Graven of Springfield, Missouri, Brandon Honeycutt and wife, Patricia, of Marshfield, Missouri, and his stepchildren, Jason Denner and wife, Tori, of Seymour, Missouri, Melissa Hall and husband, Joe, of Seymour, Missouri, and Josh Denner and significant other, Erin Tackkett, of Seymour, Missouri, his 15 grandchildren, Ben Graven, Jessica Allison, Isaac Honeycutt, Anna Honeycutt, Emilee Honeycutt, Gabriel Honeycutt, Seth Honeycutt, Jayden Hume, Brandon Honeycutt II, Bella Hall, Aalea Hall, Gunner Hall, Claira Denner, Catie Denner, and Gracie Denner, as well as his seven great-grandchildren.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents, his nine siblings Oscar Bowlin, Clarence Bowlin, Eva Bowlin Bowman, Hayden Bowlin, Farris Bowlin, Susy Bowlin, Treva Bowlin Bray, James Bowlin, Venus Bowlin Morgenson and the mother of his children, Ann Graven.

Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 15, 2024, and funeral services will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 16, 2024, both at Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home in Seymour, with services being officiated by Josh Romo. Bob will be laid to rest at Seymour Masonic Cemetery. Lunch will be immediately following the services at Bob and Rita’s home 25 Meadow Ridge Lane, Seymour MO.

Memorial contributions may be made to Happy Hollow Bible Camp care of Fordland Church of Christ, 929 Barton Drive, Fordland, Missouri 65652.