Cyril "Cy" Graves

Cyril “Cy” Graves, a beloved friend and devoted member of his chosen community, passed away at age 68 after a life that took him from New Jersey to the mountains of Colorado.

Cy was born in Paterson, New Jersey to Holocaust survivors Peter and Marie Nesmejanow. He is predeceased by his biological parents, adopted parents, three brothers Leon Ness, Georg Nesmejanow and Victor Bond and two sisters Olga Nesmejanow and Vera Glasser (nee Nesmejanow). He is survived by his sisters Evdokia Nesmejanow and Nina Bond and his brothers Alex Nesmejanow, Peter Nesmejanow, Michael Graves and Robert Thomas.

Cy and his brother Michael were adopted by the Graves family at a young age and grew up in West Milford, New Jersey. He had fond memories of riding his bike along the fence of the Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat, a drive-through safari/theme park that operated in West Milford from 1972–1976.

As an adult, Cy made his home in Colorado, spending the better part of his life in the Evergreen and Conifer area. The mountains became home, but it was the people he met there who became his family.

Cy was a highly skilled mechanic who had an extraordinary ability to understand how things worked and how to make them work again. He was the kind of person people could count on, not only for his mechanical expertise, but for his loyalty, generosity, and willingness to help.

Cy had a gift for friendship. Some souls simply understand each other upon meeting, and Cy had a way of forming those connections that lasted a lifetime. The people he called friends were not casual acquaintances; they were his chosen family. Once you were Cy’s friend, you were his friend for life.

He will be remembered for his mechanical talent, his independence, his loyalty, and, most of all, for the deep and lasting friendships he formed throughout his life.

Cy leaves behind family whose lives he touched, and a wide circle of friends who will carry his memory with them. For those fortunate enough to have been called his friend, Cy was family, and that bond will not be forgotten.