August 21, 2004: Headlines: COS - Costa Rica: Goleta Valley Voice: Kelly Keim and Bill Graves met in the summer of 1967 in Costa Rica, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer and she was with an international health team administering inoculations against polio and measles

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Costa Rica: Peace Corps Costa Rica : The Peace Corps in Costa Rica: August 21, 2004: Headlines: COS - Costa Rica: Goleta Valley Voice: Kelly Keim and Bill Graves met in the summer of 1967 in Costa Rica, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer and she was with an international health team administering inoculations against polio and measles

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-239-147.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.239.147) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 5:13 pm: Edit Post

Kelly Keim and Bill Graves met in the summer of 1967 in Costa Rica, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer and she was with an international health team administering inoculations against polio and measles

Kelly Keim and Bill Graves met in the summer of 1967 in Costa Rica, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer and she was with an international health team administering inoculations against polio and measles

Kelly Keim and Bill Graves met in the summer of 1967 in Costa Rica, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer and she was with an international health team administering inoculations against polio and measles

Livin' in the Good Land: Bill and Kelly Graves - making the Good Land better
by Sonia Fernandez, Voice Staff Reporter


One would think that, after spending busy years spanning the globe, Bill and Kelly Graves would be content to settle down and live quiet lives in their tranquil suburban neighborhood in the Good Land.

Not so.

"I don’t see how people can not be busy," said Kelly Graves, who currently teaches at Santa Barbara City College, among myriad other activities.

Were it not for their mutual passion for improving the lives of others, Kelly Keim and Bill Graves might never have met in the summer of 1967. They both happened to be in Costa Rica, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer and she was with an international health team administering inoculations against polio and measles.

It didn’t take long to figure out they were a good fit, and soon they were engaged. "It wasn’t the year Ann Landers said we should have," said Kelly Graves of the less than one-year engagement period she and her husband took before marrying in April of 1968. "Everyone kept saying, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t marry someone you met in a foreign country because you don’t know how he’s going to act when he comes back to America.’"

It turns out she had no need to worry—36 years, three daughters, and a lot of adventures later, they are still enjoying their lives together. Bill’s postings as a part of the United States Information Services (formerly part of the United States’ Embassy System) took them to Germany, as well as to Central and South America. They share memories of jungles, monkeys, crocodiles and landlocked sharks—and they’re still committed to improving the lives and developing the potential of the people in their community.

"When I retired, I didn’t want to stay in the Washington, D.C. area," said Bill. The main reason the Graves moved to Santa Barbara was a visit to UCSB with their oldest daughter, Beth. Bill said, "I joined them when they visited UCSB in 1989 when [Beth] was graduating from an American school in Mexico City." According to Bill, Beth was "quite taken" with UCSB, and decided to go to school there. Second daughter Mandy and youngest daughter Melissa also attended UCSB. In 1997, when Graves retired, the Santa Barbara area was one of their best options for relocation.

What sealed the deal for them was when Kelly got a job at Santa Barbara City College, training students to become Certified Nursing Assistants. "It’s just very gratifying," said Kelly Graves. "I love teaching." She also does music therapy for nursing homes in the area and is involved in the San Marcos Hish School Health Academy. (That program is a collaboration between schools in which seniors at San Marcos High have the opportunity to train at Santa Barbara City College’s Certified Nurse’s Assistant program. That way, they expose themselves to the field and get priority enrollment at the popular—and two-year wait-listed—Registered Nurse program.) Besides all of those activities, you can find Kelly participating in up to three choruses at any given time.

Despite retiring from the now-defunct Information Service, Bill Graves still keeps a busy schedule. As Secretary for the Interfaith Initiative, a member of Habitat for Humanity and the Rotary Club, his days are packed with activities aimed at getting the community together to assist the less fortunate. As part of the Interfaith Initiative, he is involved in getting members of different faith groups together to communicate better and to work with each other on different projects. With Habitat for Humanity, he is starting a ReStore program, aimed at recycling surplus building material. For the Rotary Club, he is acting as chairman of their upcoming August 28 car show at Girsh Park.

In their leisure time, they enjoy spending time with their family. They regularly drive down to Los Angeles to visit their two young grandchildren, and they recently saw their youngest daughter get married, after which they helped her and her husband move to New York.

"It’s been a busy summer," muses Bill. In addition to all of his other activities, he recently came out of retirement to pursue his interest in real estate by working for a mortgage lender. When asked if they have always maintained such a heightened level of activity, they answer simply, "Yes," and tell you that they like it that way.

"There’s just so much to do," said Kelly.


Photo credit: Sonia Fernandez

Caption: Kelly and Bill Graves have passed on their active lifestyle and community-oriented values to their children.





When this story was prepared, here was the front page of PCOL magazine:

This Month's Issue: August 2004 This Month's Issue: August 2004
Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny?

Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts."

In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.


Read the stories and leave your comments.






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Story Source: Goleta Valley Voice

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Costa Rica

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