Ethel D. Firing Gravesen, 96, died in Virginia Beach, VA, on Thursday, November 5, 2015. Born in Norway, Illinois, August 14, 1919, Ethel was the oldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. T. Otmann Firing.
In 1940, she married Leslie M. Gravesen (deceased, 1990) and lived and worked in Chicago, Illinois.
Their four children are Leslie R. Gravesen of Chicago, IL, Evelyn G. Keever (Richard) of Virginia Beach, VA, Carol A. Gravesen of Wheaton, IL, and Gerald L. Gravesen (Kathleen) of Chicago, IL. She had four grandchildren: Daniel F. Keever (Amber) of Virginia Beach, VA; R. Andrew Keever (Margaret) of Winston-Salem, NC; Anna G. Mendola (John) of Lombard, IL; and Dana C. Gravesen of Chicago, IL. Her eight great grandchildren also survive her: Andrew Thomas Keever, Jackson Y. Keever, and Embrey G. Keever of Winston-Salem, NC; Minor Medlin and Finley M. Keever of Virginia Beach, VA; and Brooke M. Mendola, Evan A. C. Mendola, and Mia D. Mendola of Lombard, IL. Her surviving sister, Ruth Ann Whitaker (Vernon) lives in Richmond, VA.
In addition to working earlier in the family business in Chicago, Ethel retired from FMC in Chicago and has lived in Virginia Beach for the last 26 years. She was a member of Bayside Presbyterian Church, Circle 2, and the Sons of Norway, Hampton Roads Lodge.
Memorial services were held at Bayside Presbyterian Church, 1400 Ewell Road at Independence Blvd, Virginia Beach on Sunday, November 22, 2015, at 2 p.m.
Memorial contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be sent to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, 601 Children’s Lane, Norfolk, VA 23507 or Bayside Presbyterian Church, 1400 Ewell Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.
Condolences may be offered to the family at www.hollomon-brown.com.
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