William James "Jim" Gravely

William James “Jim” Gravely, 94 of Athens, passed away peacefully at his home on October 12, 2023. He was the son of Walter P. Gravely, Sr. and Julia Virginia Stone Gravely of Seneca, SC.

He was born in Easley, SC and was raised in Seneca, SC (Oconee County, SC) where he married Joyce Ann McCrackin. They moved to Atlanta in 1956 and raised their family in Dekalb County. They moved to the Athens area in Oconee County in 1986.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Walter Gravely, Jr., his sister-in-law Dorothy Gravely and his wife of 70 years, Joyce Gravely, just 2 weeks prior on September 28, 2023.

Mr. Gravely is survived by his son James Michael Gravely (Susan) of Watkinsville, GA, his daughter Virginia Gravely Stanley (John) of Lawrenceville; grandchildren Kathryn Gravely and William Gravely (Caroline) of Athens, Andrew Stanley (Rachel) of Decatur, Austin Stanley of Atlanta, Patrick Cleary (Melanie) of Raleigh, NC and Andrew Cleary of Smyrna, GA; and four great grandchildren: Samuel Middlebrooks, Clara Gravely, Robert Gravely and Foster Stanley.

Jim served in the Army Air Corps post WWII and was stationed in occupied Japan. He embraced and learned much about the Japanese culture and language, which he shared often with his children and grandchildren. After his service duty, he attended the University of South Carolina under the GI bill, where he was a founding member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter. He later obtained a Juris Doctor degree at the Atlanta Law School, while he worked and raised his family.

His professional career was a 40+ year span with the State Farm Insurance Company as an auto claims adjuster for litigated claims and finishing his career at 71 as a claims training specialist for the state of Georgia.

Jim lived his 94 years to the fullest and was often referred to as a one-of-a-kind legend by family and friends because of his remarkable good health and vitality well into his 90’s. A devout Christian, he was a serious student of the Bible with a desire to understand all he could of the origins and translations. He also loved his family and enjoyed being a part of their lives as a good example of how to be faithful and enjoy life. His sense of humor was a big part of his personality and he liked to make others laugh with his repertoire of jokes, which many people can recite. His other enjoyments included playing golf and fishing as a member of the Athens Country Club and following the Georgia Bulldogs Football team and the UGA Gym Dogs Gymnastics team.

A dual Celebration of Life Service for Jim and Joyce will be held at First Baptist Church Athens on Saturday October 21, 2023 with a visitation in the fellowship hall from 1:00 – 2:15 with a service in the sanctuary at 2:30.

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Foundation at www.brightfocus.org/ADRmatch .

Lord and Stephens Funeral Home, WEST, Watkinsville, GA is in charge of arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com