Frances Miller Gravatte, 94, a former credit union administrator and a bed-and-breakfast proprietor in Bethany Beach, Del., died
of congestive heart failure June 16 at her Alexandria home.
Mrs. Gravatte was born in Washington and graduated from McKinley Tech High School in 1929. She attended the University of
Maryland for a year and then, after her marriage, became a homemaker and lived in the District.
She moved to Alexandria in 1938. After her children were grown, she began working as an administrator for the Navy Federal
Credit Union, where she was employed from 1955 to 1974.
After she retired, she became the proprietor of the Addy Sea Bed and Breakfast in Bethany Beach, a three-story, 14-bedroom
Victorian showplace fronting the beach. She loved that place with a passion, one of her sons said.
Her repeat customers were like family and she was deeply involved in the life of the Bethany Beach community. She was past
president of the Bethany Beach Women's Civic Club at a time when the club was responsible for maintaining lifeguard service
along the beach.
She lived in Bethany Beach during the tourist season and in Alexandria during the winter. In Alexandria, she was active with the
Daughters of the American Revolution and the Eastern Star. From 1940 to 2005, she was a member of Trinity United Methodist
Church, where she sang in the choir.
Survivors include her husband of 72 years, L. Trice Gravatte Jr. of Alexandria; two sons, Leroy Trice Gravatte III of Springfield and
Bethany Beach, and Charles M. Gravatte of Hamilton, Va.; five grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
2005