Benjamin "Ben" Sauvollé Gravolet, III

Ben Gravolet, aged 57 but never matured past age 12, passed away August 23rd, 2025. He leaves behind more cars than children, but also three children and their mother, 2 well-fed dogs, and an AI assistant that would have been much better at writing this obituary than his son.

Ben is survived by his incredibly patient and tolerant wife, Katie S. Gravolet, who spent 32 years trying to train him not to buy Hot Wheels at the grocery store. He is also survived by his three children Jack (Koray), Dawn Camille, and Peter (Paris) as well as his step-father John and his in laws-Kenneth and Kathleen Sellers. He is preceded in death by his father Ben and his mother Tana whom he is likely quarreling with in the afterlife.

He graduated from Brother Martin High School of New Orleans in the prime of the Reagan-era, a time that he culturally never left. Ben had an illustrious career in hospitality marketing, excelling in various enterprises from owning one of the largest ad agencies in Louisiana to busting up a klan rally in Indiana. Winning over 200 industry awards, he was known for his quick wit and the ability to orient the room around himself, much like his mother. An incredibly hard worker, he worked to make sure his kids had opportunities he never had.

Ben enjoyed many things, especially cars. A passion he instilled into his oldest son, Jack; together they built what was at its peak one of the largest collections of historically significant road-going Porsches in the United States. Ben and Jack spent most of their weekends indulging in their love of automobiles while bickering about nothing.

Aside from his children and cars, Ben oriented his life around his next meal like a true New Orleanian. As Ben was a connoisseur of meat and potatoes, naturally his favorite country to visit was Germany as it was where the food was most recognizable. He visited Italy once and complained there was too much pasta.

Friends can visit the family and pay their respects Friday, August 29th at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, 2013 W 1st St, Gulf Shores, AL 36542 from 2-4 PM.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Hokie’s Hounds Beagle Rescue in Ben’s name through PayPal to hokieshounds@yahoo.com (Cindy Peterson).