Will, also known as Buck, passed on August 21, 2023, after a valiant fight against pneumonia. A man of tremendous integrity and generosity, Will was a gentle giant who gave a welcoming smile to everyone he met. Born on April 19, 1927, in Ladonia, Texas, Will enjoyed outdoor adventures growing up in Texas and Wisconsin becoming skilled in tennis, horseback riding, ballroom dancing, hunting and fishing that he continued throughout life. He graduated from Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, in 1945 with Academic and Military Honors. While too young to serve in WWII, Will felt he made a small contribution by making paratrooper jump boots at the family's Nunn Bush Shoe factory in Edgerton, Wisconsin.

After studying Spanish for several years at the College of Americans, Mexico City, Will joined the Inspection and Vaccinating Brigade of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, spending a year in the Mexican jungle on horseback vaccinating cattle. While proud of helping the Mazatec Indians, he said the Korean War changed everything for him. Will was sworn into the U.S. Air Force at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in 1951. After completing their eighteen-month advanced studies program in Russian he was stationed at Tempelhof Air Base in Berlin where he soon learned German.

In 1955, Will began his 37-year career as an Intelligence Officer for the National Security Agency (NSA) starting at Arlington Station, Virginia, followed by Fort Meade, Maryland. In 1959, he earned a direct commission in the U.S. Army as a Captain in Army Intelligence and Security (AIS), serving as a Reservist for over a decade. After marrying the love of his life, Randi, in her hometown of Kristiansand, Norway, they moved to Oberammergau, Germany, in 1960. Also stationed in Herzogenaurach, Frankfurt am Main, and Stuttgart, Will spent a total of thirteen years in Germany and three years as a Liaison Officer in Cheltenham England. As a manager of the Special Collection and Reporting Branch he travelled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Will and Randi also enjoyed traveling and dedicating themselves to their two children, Tina and Erick.

Will held a M.A. in Russian Studies from American University, Diploma from the U.S. Army Institute of Advance Russian Studies in Oberammergau, Germany, Diploma (Russian) from U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, and B.A. degrees in Russian and Spanish from Syracuse University. He also studied at the University of Texas, Austin, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Milwaukee. An expert in Russian technology, economy, politics and firearms, NSA awarded Will the Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1983.

After retiring from NSA in 1986, Will held senior advisory and linguistic positions with GTE Government Systems (Mountain View, CA), the Diplomatic Language Services (Columbia, MD) and Intelligence Security International (Annapolis Junction, MD). Fluent in Russian, German and Spanish, Will also taught English as a Second Language at Anne Arundel Community College. He published dozens of articles on Soviet Arms, presented lectures on "Intelligence and Politics," and was a contributing author to American Rifleman and American Hunter magazines for many years. Will was a competitive pistol shooter with the Cheltenham Police force for several years (1978 British National Air Pistol Champion, Senior Class) and at AAF&G, an Annapolis Gun Club of which he was a life member. He actively promoted responsible gun ownership throughout his life and always enjoyed hunting with his German Short-hair Pointers.

Will moved abroad one final time to serve as an Assistant Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow from 1993-1995. For decades he had studied the Soviet magazine Hunting & Game Management to improve his Russian which sparked a life-long study of the characteristics and behavior of wolves in Czarist Russia and in the USSR. In 1994, the magazine editor, Dimitri Bibikov, PhD, and Will published a paper on Russian wolves, presenting it at the International Symposium on Predators held in Poland. Will enjoyed traveling with Russian wolf experts to Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Karelia collecting data. He authored three books; Wolves in Russia (2007), The Real Wolf with co-author, Ted Lyon (2014), and The Grey Wolf Revealed with Finish co-author, Kaj Granlund (2019). Will remained friends with many of the ranchers he met through his research.

Will gave the same devotion to his wife and family that he gave to his career and hobbies. Will was proud that his daughter shared his passion for the outdoors becoming a career ecologist and an environmental protection specialist with NASA (he even shared his favorite Russian vocabulary-builder program with astronauts). Will was proud Erick was a Master pistol shooter and applied his HAM radio skills in disaster communication training and at local sports events. Will always expressed his pride in the military service of his family including the U.S. Air Force service of his son-in-law, David, and grandson, Kaden (currently stationed in German) and the combat service (WWII Distinguished Flying Cross) of his uncle, Naval Commander W. Morgan Flenniken, the namesake of his grandson, Morgan. Will called his nephews, Gordon and Allen Pierce (Purple Heart Recipient), his Heroes for their brave service in Vietnam.

Erick lived with Will and Randi for decades and Will was profoundly grateful for Erick's care of them both through the end of their lives. Even after Will suffered a stroke in 2020 he enjoyed spending time with friends and his three grandchildren, Kaden, Morgan, and Camryn who followed her grandfather by studying Russian in college. While he will be deeply missed by family, the nation is grateful for Will's dedicated service as a military officer, cryptologist and diplomat.

Will is proceeded in death by his parents, Will Nunn and Virginia Caroline (Flenniken) Graves, Sr.; wife, Randi (Johnsen) Graves: sister and her husband, Janice (Graves) and Gailen Pierce, and their daughter, Cynthia (Pierce) Murphy; and brothers-in-law, Arne Nordahl and Kjell Johanssen. Will is survived by his son, Erick Nunn Graves, and daughter, Tina Borghild (Graves) Norwood, and her husband, David Norwood, their three children; Kaden Alarik Norwood (wife Makensey), Morgan Chandler Norwood, and Camryn Brooke Norwood, and her stepdaughter Kirsten Nicole Hall. Will is also survived by nephews and a niece in Wisconsin; Allen Pierce (wife Gayle), Gordon Pierce (wife Pat), Mike Pierce (wife Mary), and Sally (Pierce) Neitzel (husband Jim); numerous cousins in Texas; as well as his wife's family in Norway including sisters-in-law, Ruth (Johnsen) Nordahl and Else (Johnsen) Johanssen, and nephews and nieces; Svein Nordahl (wife Marit), Anna Nordahl, Bente (Nordahl) Haugen (husband Anton), Kirsten Nordahl-Sørli (husband Åge), Terje Johanssen (wife Marit) and Torunn (Johanssen) Mangseth (husband Gunnar).

Memorial Services will be held on Sunday, September 24th, from 1-3pm at Barranco Funeral Home in Severna Park, Maryland. The family will share stories of Will's life at 2pm. Friends and family are asked to share memories of Will in the Guest Book below.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Will's honor to the Veteran-led organization dedicated to helping families impacted by natural disasters, Team Rubicon, at: https://teamrubiconusa.org/

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