| Sources |
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 24 Aug 1990.
Charles Esmond Ballew, Jr. obituary
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 14 Dec 2009.
Tennessee's longest-serving pharmacist ends career in Maryville
Maryville pharmacist retires after 60-year career
Mark A. Large/The Daily Times
Chester Graves (right) with his wife Margaret Suzy Graves sitting in one of the office at Lowe's Drug Store on Wednesday.
By J.J. Kindred
The longest-serving pharmacist in Tennessee has retired after more than 60 years.
Chester Graves, 89, worked at Lowe's Drug Store in Maryville for the past 13 years.
His wife's uncle is responsible for his career choice.
"He had a drug store, and he said if I would go into pharmacy he would let me come into business with him," Graves said. "They opened up a new Baptist Hospital in Knoxville and he became a chief pharmacist and he sold his drug store."
A McMinn County native, Graves spent more than four years in the military, serving during World War II. He went to pharmacy school at the University of Tennessee at Memphis and worked for the former Cole Drug Store (which became Revco, before being bought out by CVS).
He spent time in Greeneville, working for Ciba (Chemical Industries Basel) for 37 years in sales before it merged with Novartis in 1997.
He won the Tennessee Pharmacy Association's Lubin Sales Representative Award in 1984.
Graves said he wants his legacy to be that he helped a lot of people.
"I would hope that I helped a lot of them," he said. "I worked as manufacturer and worked heavily with doctors and druggists. I had a good repertoire. There would be a new drug that would come out and I would tell them what I had been told about the drug."
Now that Graves is retired, what will he do now?
"Rake leaves," he said with a laugh.
- [S86] McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home, (http://www.mccammonammonsclick.com/), 30 Sep 2015.
January 24, 1920 - September 30, 2015
Resided in Jefferson City, TN
Chester Owen Graves, born in Etowah, TN on January 24, 1920, passed away Wednesday, September 30, 2015. He was drafted into the Armed Services during WWII where he served for almost five years and was honorably discharged as a major in the Corps of Engineering. After leaving the Army he worked as a fireman for L&N Railroad, but then decided to attend Lincoln Memorial University and the University of Tennessee where he majored in pre-pharmacy. He went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee Pharmacy School in Memphis. Once he graduated from pharmacy school he managed and was a pharmacist at Cole's Drugstore. He then went to work as a pharmaceutical representative for Ciba in May 1952. While working for Ciba he earned many awards such as; the Herman Lubin Sales Representative of the Year, the Distinguished Service Award, senior medical representative, and was one of the first sales reps from Ciba to become a certified medical representative. He was also a member of the Tennessee Pharmaceutical Association. He retired from Ciba after 37 years of service. When he retired, Ciba established the SMR Award of Excellence in his honor, which was an award for representatives that had excelled through the year. Even though he retired from Ciba he enjoyed pharmaceutical work so much that he started working part-time at Lowe's Drugstore. At the age of 90 he finally decided to retire for good and was honored in the Congressional Record by John Duncan for 60 years of pharmaceutical service. He was a member of the Alcoa First United Methodist church where he taught Sunday school and sang in the choir for many years. He was an avid golfer but really loved all sports. He was a donor to University of Tennessee and huge fan of the Tennessee Vols.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Viola Graves; wife of 68 years; Margaret "Suzy" Graves; and sister, Dorothy Mason.
Survivors include daughter, Cathy Adderhold and her husband Frank; grandchildren, Travis Adderhold and wife Leslie, Adrienne Adderhold and wife Rose; great grandchildren, Kambree, Clayton, Alex, Meghan, Brock, and Haleigh; sisters, Johnnie Kate Hall and Joyce Bullard.
Funeral services will be held at 7:00 p.m. Monday in McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Jason Brown officiating. Family and friends will meet at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday at Greenhill Cemetery in Etowah for the interment service.
The family will receive friends from 5-7:00 p.m. Monday at McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home, Maryville.
The family wishes to extend a special thanks to the girls in The Bridge at Chandler House Assisted Living in Jefferson City, TN.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alcoa Middle School golf team, 532 Faraday St., Alcoa, TN 37701.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name John H Graves
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 29 Sep 1918
Event Place McMinn, Tennessee, United States
Gender Male
Spouse's Name Viola M Bookout
Spouse's Gender Female
"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-9813-33682-9?cc=1619127 : accessed 2 October 2015), 004539036 > image 3002 of 3045; county courthouses, Tennessee.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name Chester Owen Graves
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 21 Mar 1946
Event Place McMinn, Tennessee, United States
Gender Male
Age 25
Birth Year (Estimated) 1921
Spouse's Name Margaret Sue Ballew
Spouse's Gender Female
Spouse's Age 22
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1924
Page 449
"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-9816-46971-13?cc=1619127 : accessed 2 October 2015), 004539124 > image 262 of 637; county courthouses, Tennessee.
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