Barbara Ann Gravelle

Barbara Ann Hicks Gravelle, 86, of Asheville, NC, beloved Aunt, Sister, friend, advocate, artist, poet and mentor, passed away April 14, 2025 peacefully after a fierce battle with cancer. Her tenacious spirit, strong mind and body allowed to her outlive what most thought impossible. Born in Nebo, NC July 30, 1938, she was the daughter of the late Alma Loudermilk Hicks and Arvin Howard Hicks, SR. She grew up primarily in Nebo, apart from 4 years ,1940-1944, from the age of 2-6 years old, when her parents lived and worked in Oakridge, TN during WWII. After Graduating from Nebo School in 1956, she attended Virginia Intermont College, UNC-Chapel Hill and finally Wayne State University. After finishing school, she remained in Detroit until 1970. In 1970, she traveled with her late, ex-husband Bill Gravelle to Berkley, California where she remained until 1990. In 1984 she began to travel to Europe where she discovered her beloved Island, Kythera, Greece. She spent the summers there for many years and then moved there in 1990. She returned home to Nebo in the late 1990’s to care for her Mother. She moved to Asheville in 2001.

Barbara was always a gifted artist. From a young age she was an actress. She performed and won awards for her roles in high school and college. She won the Rhoda Nunnally Award for Best actress of the year at Virginia Intermont before heading to Chapel Hill where she had leading roles in the Carolina Playmakers, such as Dorimene in Moliere’s The Would-Be Gentlemen. She was a published author and award winning poet. Her published works included books, articles, reviews, and poems. She won the Jesse Stuart National Poetry Award in 1972 for her book “Keepsake”.

Barbara was a deeply spiritual person. She was a practicing Buddhist and a member of the Urban Dharma in Asheville, NC, where she volunteered and helped to organize fundraisers Barbara was a teacher for most of her professional life, including teaching special-needs children. She developed a poetry therapy program for children in hospitals. Among many of her accomplishments, she taught and led countless workshops ranging from preschool and non-verbal to graduate seminars through California Poetry in school programs, the San Francisco Art commission and the Intersection Center for the arts. Even in retirement, she remained an advocate, mentor and teacher for children.

Barbara was an activist for many causes such as human rights, environmental protections, animal welfare, the arts, peace and many other issues she cared deeply about. She joined the PAR (People Against Racism) in 1968 to help fight against racial discrimination in Detroit. She championed women’s rights and was an active feminist voice in the San Francisco poetry scene of the ’70’s and ’80’s, co-creating the Bay Area Poets Coalition in 1973. The coalition helped provide a platform and coordinate women’s poetry readings at the Intersection for the arts in San Francisco. She helped fight for a community garden (Elder and Sage), arranged Asheville Symphony tickets for her fellow residents in Asheville and she helped organize and arrange transportation for others to vote. She continued her activism, including protesting into her 80’s in Asheville.

Barbara’s passions included reading, yoga, good food and wine and travel. She had a deep connection with nature, she especially loved bird watching, gardening and her cats. Barbara was a dedicated Aunt. She inspired her loved ones, especially her nieces and nephews through creating art, emphasizing the importance of education, reading and exploring other cultures. She traveled frequently with her niece’s family to places like Dubai and Sri Lanka. 

Barbara had a fabulous sense of humor and a quick wit that she maintained until her final days in hospice, joking with the staff and her loved ones. She was always a bright light in the lives of her friends and family, a light that will forever live on for all of them. Barbara is survived by her Brother Arvin Hicks Jr. and his wife Patricia Hicks; Her Niece Amy Hicks and her husband John Kim and their children Cameron, Sebastian, and Griffin; Her Nephew Arvin Hicks III and his children Ashley Boykin and her husband BJ and their children Daphne, Winnie, and Bennie and Jesse Hicks and his wife Kylie Hicks and their children Gannon, Sadie, and Ransom; Her niece Angela Bassett and her son Greyson; Her Niece Diane Shelton and her son Allen Shelton and his wife Tonia and their children Jasper and Landon. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her Sister Kathryn Hicks Simmons Parker and her beloved cat Eugene.

There will be no services at this time. If you wish to honor her by making donations in her name to the following:

https://rebuildhotsprings.org/

https://ashevillesymphony.org/