STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Linda Graves was known by her friends and family as the “unofficial mayor of Staten Island.”
“She knew everybody. Literally anywhere we went, someone knew Linda, and Linda knew someone,” said her daughter, Shannon Walters.
Graves, a lifelong Staten Islander, died on May 12 at the age of 72. The cause of death was cancer.
She was born on November 15, 1953 to James and Elizabeth Mooney, both of whom emigrated to Staten Island from Ireland. Her father was an oiler for Proctor and Gamble, and her mother managed the household. Graves had six siblings.
Linda Gravesfamily archive
She grew up in Port Richmond and attended Port Richmond High School. At the age of 17, she got a job as a telephone operator.
“She wanted to be a nurse,” Walters said. “That didn’t work out, but she became a bartender for the Spa Lounge down on Richmond Terrace.”
Graves’s social skills came in handy in her work as a bartender. “She was personable,” Walters said. “My mother never met a stranger. She met you once, she knew everything about you, you were her friend for forever.”
“When she left her job as a bartender, she became a matron on the New York City Staten Island Ferry,” Walters said. “She worked in the Whitehall Ferry Terminal, as well as on the boats themselves, maintaining the bathrooms.”
Graves held that job for 30 years. On 9/11, she worked to transport water to the first responders in a golf cart.
She devoted her free time to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. “She counted the money for them,” Walters said. “She maintained their bank accounts. She did the readings during the mass. She was a sexton in the church, setting up the masses.”
Linda Gravesfamily archive
“She loved being a part of that community,” Walters said. “She loved the priests. She fit in.”
Later in life, Graves moved from Port Richmond to Silver Lake, across the street from a golf course. Errant golf balls were the bane of her existence. “All the balls would come onto the street, so they were constantly bouncing near the kids and breaking car windows,” Walters said.
Graves was proud of her Irish roots. She loved playing bingo and looking after her grandchildren.
“She had a strong personality,” Walters said. “When she had an opinion about something, you knew about it. She did not hold back. She told you exactly what she thought when she thought it. She didn’t really care if you agreed.”
Linda Graves and her husband, Bryan Graves, Sr.family archive
Graves is survived by her children, Shannon Walters, Scott Walters, Bryan Graves, Brendan Graves, and seven grandchildren.