Condolences to our classmate Tom Graham on the passing of his father, Dr. Thomas W. Graham.

The obituary follows...

THOMAS W. GRAHAM, MD 

Thomas Warne Graham, MD, 82, died peacefully, at his home in Leavenworth County, Kan., on Monday, November 9, 2009, after battling cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. In attendance was his wife of 54 years, Eunice Dare Graham.  He was cremated.

Doctor Graham was born in Cleveland, Ohio on Nov. 29, 1926, to the late Beatrice Warne and Perry L. Graham. Residing in the state of Ohio up through his college years at Ohio State University, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and won the prestigious award of The Ohio State Scholar. He continued his schooling at Ohio State, earning a Doctor of Medicine degree, when he was only 23 years old.  

After returning from Africa in the 1950s where then Captain Graham served in the Army Medical Corps at Kagnew Station, Asmara, Eritrea, he collaborated with his brothers Ken and Malcolm to open a medical clinic in Leavenworth. Retiring from the practice of medicine in 1989, Dr. Tom, as he was known, had served his patients for 35 years. 

During this time Doctor Graham served as staff president at both Cushing Memorial Hospital and St. John Hospital as well as president of the Leavenworth Health Department. 

Accomplished in the art of wood working and the cultivation of orchids, he was best known for his love of the land and could be seen in any weather tramping over the acreage, clearing brush and mending fences, most lately accompanied by his faithful canine companion, Samantha. His brush of white hair could be seen curling from under his old straw hat and if you should stop for a minute along the road there was always a ready smile and a bit of dry wit. 

He is survived by his wife, Eunice Dare Graham of the home; his children, Thomas Warne Graham II of Columbia, Md ., and Andrew Kevin Graham of Leavenworth; and his grandchildren, Perry T Graham of Blacksburg, Va., and Alex Graham of Elon College, N. C. Also surviving are a dozen nieces and nephews.

Friends and former patients are invited to a reception to honor Doctor Graham’s memory, from 2 to 4 p.m., on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009, at June's Cottage, 216 North Broadway, Leavenworth. 

The family suggests memorials to the American Heart Association, 5375 W. 7th Street, Topeka, KS 66606 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.