Elmore Douglass Greaves, Jr., 84,
(former landman) died in his home at Livingston, Mississippi, on June 12, 2010.
He was born on March 15, 1926, in Jackson, Mississippi. He graduated from
Central High School in 1944, and immediately after-wards joined the U.S. Navy,
where he was sent to the South Pacific on the U.S.S. Zaniah during World War II.
He was made a rear gunner for the ship, manned a 50-caliber anti-aircraft gun,
and was involved in many skirmishes with Japanese Kamikaze pilots. After the
war, he returned to Jack-son and attended Millsaps College, Ole Miss, Louisiana
State University, and received a law degree from the Jackson School of Law. He
belonged to the Kappa Alpha order. In his younger years he traveled extensively,
exploring such places as Cuba, Haiti, Africa, the Middle East, Central America,
and Asia. He also loved all things English. He traveled to the Middle East with
two of his closest friends, Harvey Hutchins, and Bob Tyson, where they acquired
an oil concession on a third of the Kingdom of Jordan, before a military coup
ended their efforts. He would say later that the plan was to get rich quick, but
instead they got poor sooner. He and the same two friends decided to buy six
cars in New Orleans, and drive and tow them through Mexico to Guatemala, in
order to sell them for a large profit. At one point, the road they were on ended
at a canyon, and they had to cross on a railroad bridge, hoping that the train
didn't meet them head on. During their trip they survived earthquakes, bandits,
a Mexican jail, and in the end, did not make a large profit. He liked to say
that he met his wife, Vary Barbour Thrower (Bobbie Greaves) on a Greek Isle, but
then would explain that it was actually on an "aisle" at the Greek restaurant,
Primos, in Jackson. He was so impressed with her that he immediately left for
Africa, and she didn't hear from him until he returned six months later.
However, they did marry after all, and moved to family land in rural Madison
County where they built a concrete house, started a farm of sheep, chickens, and
gladiolas, and had four hard-headed children, and one that just wants to get
along.
Politically, he was a very outspoken conservative, unaffiliated with any party,
and wrote many articles and essays reflecting his belief in small government and
his deep passion for the heritage of the South. He was also the U. S.
representative for the World Anti-Communist League for a number of years. He
loved to read, and collected thousands of books. His interests were in history,
anthropology, geography, and philosophy. Most of the early mornings of his adult
life were spent in his living room, sit-ting in his favorite chair reading and
drinking his coffee. The children were allowed to join him only if they were not
too chatty, and could interpret a not-so-subtle rattle of his coffee cup to mean
a refill was urgently needed.
One also might be required to endure quotes from his favorite philosophers at
5:30 in the morning. He disdained all sports and games. He would, however,
correctly answer Trivial Pursuit questions loudly from across the room, while
disapproving of the game itself. He never joined any local civic groups,
adopting the phrase: "I do not want to be a part of any organization that would
have me as a member." He loved deeply, his church, the Chapel of the Cross, in
Madison, where generations of his family are buried in the churchyard. He served
as lay reader and usher for many years, and as usher, he found that shaking the
collection plate in front of the church-goers, particularly his friends, would
often encourage a more giving heart. He was a farmer, lawyer, entrepreneur, and
oil and gas businessman. He was a true wit, practical jokester, and possessed a
fundamental kindness that compelled him to aid others throughout his life. He is
survived by his wife of fifty-four years, Bobbie T. Greaves, son Arne Greaves;
daughter Eleanor Greaves Sutherland; son Sebastian Greaves; daughter Greta
Barbour Mills, and son Henry Greaves.
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