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We buried my Uncle Joe this past weekend. He was 74 and had managed to get every last moment out of his body until his heart gave out at the end.
Joe loved Gravely Tractors. Some of my earliest memories of Joe were of him mowing grass with his big yellow Commercial 12 with a 50 inch deck out front. As a boy I knew that someday when I was tough enough to mow with the Commercial 12, I would be on my way to becoming a man. Joe’s love of Gravely Tractors was extensive. He owned and used several of them over the years, from L models, Commercial 12, 430, 450, 812, 816, and finally a G16 with 60 inch deck. Many of these he still owned. But his favorite tractor was his Commercial 12 that he bought new from the dealer. He told me he loved the tractor on first sight. It was a workhorse his entire life. That is how I caught the Gravely bug, and its’ contagious, because my son Joe now has the bug too.
Uncle Joe really liked going to the swap meets, and at the end of his years, I would bring him along… with his walker and a chair. Even when he couldn’t get around, he would go to sit and watch the tractors parade by. Joe made it to the last Mow-in in Brownsville, PA. You may have seen him sitting in the corner of the building watching the show and talking with friends.
His favorite things in life were Mack Trucks, Letter Series Chrysler 300s, and Gravely Tractors. And his final request was “Don’t haul me to the graveyard in a Cadillac.” So we drove him there in a 250 Dodge. Though, we could have used a Gravely Tractor to get him up the hill.
I now have Uncle Joe’s Comm 12 in my shop where it will work for another generation.
Uncle Joe, RIP
Sadly,
Tom
Joe loved Gravely Tractors. Some of my earliest memories of Joe were of him mowing grass with his big yellow Commercial 12 with a 50 inch deck out front. As a boy I knew that someday when I was tough enough to mow with the Commercial 12, I would be on my way to becoming a man. Joe’s love of Gravely Tractors was extensive. He owned and used several of them over the years, from L models, Commercial 12, 430, 450, 812, 816, and finally a G16 with 60 inch deck. Many of these he still owned. But his favorite tractor was his Commercial 12 that he bought new from the dealer. He told me he loved the tractor on first sight. It was a workhorse his entire life. That is how I caught the Gravely bug, and its’ contagious, because my son Joe now has the bug too.
Uncle Joe really liked going to the swap meets, and at the end of his years, I would bring him along… with his walker and a chair. Even when he couldn’t get around, he would go to sit and watch the tractors parade by. Joe made it to the last Mow-in in Brownsville, PA. You may have seen him sitting in the corner of the building watching the show and talking with friends.
His favorite things in life were Mack Trucks, Letter Series Chrysler 300s, and Gravely Tractors. And his final request was “Don’t haul me to the graveyard in a Cadillac.” So we drove him there in a 250 Dodge. Though, we could have used a Gravely Tractor to get him up the hill.
I now have Uncle Joe’s Comm 12 in my shop where it will work for another generation.
Uncle Joe, RIP
Sadly,
Tom
