HOT SPRINGS — Tall as a mountain and strong as a bear, it would only be something as cowardly and sneaky as late-stage pancreatic cancer that could take down Arthur C. Graves III,
69, of Hot Springs, Ark. Arthur was born on July 4, 1951, to Dorothy Katherine Graves and Arthur C. Graves Jr., and he was fond of the holiday, joking that it was a celebration of his birth as much as the country he so loved. Among his many jobs over the years, he was an oil field hand, an expert licensed auto-mechanic, a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) caring for mental health patients, and a truck driver; he visited every state in the continental US except for Maine and New Hampshire.
His greatest love was caring for and working with thoroughbred racehorses. He started as a teenager at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., and before long, he was traveling the racetracks around the country. His pinnacle was racing on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs. He loved his family, his dogs, and the music of John Denver and Norah Jones. He was an avid gardener, and could coax sad plants into thriving with his magic green
thumb. His specialism and joy was hybrid tea roses.
He is preceded in death by the following members of the Graves family, and we are grateful and proud that he was the personal carer for the first three in this list in the last years of their lives: his parents, Arthur C. Graves Jr. and Lula Jo (Peeples) of Hot Springs, Ark.; his paternal great-grandparents, May Dell (Chaney) and Arthur C. Graves Sr. of Magnolia, Ark.; his maternal great-grandparents, Ruben Earl Peeples and Ina Pearl (Reed) of Malvern, Ark.; his birth mother, Dorothy Katherine Graves (Tissue); and her parents Hershel Chester Tissue and Ruth Annah (Childers), of Magnolia, Ark.
He is survived by his wife Delia Natnat Graves (B.S.N., R.N.C.) (Pascua), their son Arthur C. Graves IV (B.S.E.E.), their daughter Dorothy Graves McEwan (Ph.D.) (Graves) and her husband Colin McEwan, and their son, Samuel T. Graves McEwan. He is further survived by his brother, Robert and his wife Suyapa Graves (Sabillon), and their children, Daniel, Cindy, and Benjamin. He is further survived by his sister, Robin (Graves) and her husband Harvey Tallant, and their children, Angela, Purity, and Amber.
On the occasion of the wedding of his daughter in 2005, Arthur went to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. He visited Deacon Brodie’s Tavern on the Royal Mile and asked the bartender, “What’s the finest Scottish whisky?” The bartender replied, “I’ve seen many tourists come and go, and spend money on the most expensive bottles we’ve got. But I tell you, the finest whisky is the one that you like the most.” We invite you to raise a glass of your favourite to him, or alternatively, donate to the nearest cancer charity of your choice.
Visitation will be held on Friday, March 5, 2021, at 9 a.m., followed by funeral services at 10 a.m., at Oakridge Cemetery in Malvern, Ark. All condolences and tributes can be made at www.atkinsonfuneralhome.net.