Obituary for Lawrence McCue Graham
Lawrence M. Graham
1924 - 2020
Prairie Village, KS- Lawrence McCue Graham, age 96, died early Sunday morning, December 6, 2020, at Addington Place, Prairie Village, Kansas. Larry was born November 30, 1924, to Lawrence Franklin and Vada June (McCue) Graham in Cameron, Missouri, and was their only child. He graduated from Cameron High School in 1942 and attended Wentworth Military Academy, receiving an Associate in Arts (Pre-Dental) in 1944. In June 1944 while serving in the Army Medical Corps, orders were received directing Larry to Kansas City Western Dental College, from where he graduated as a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1947. With WWII ending, he returned to Cameron to join his father’s dental practice for several years but between 1955-57 was called to serve in the 2795th Hospital Group at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Macon, Georgia, with the rank of Captain.
Larry married Sarah Elizabeth Green of Armstrong, Missouri, daughter of Dave and Viola (Harris) Green on August 22, 1948. Larry and Sarah had two children, Lawrence Steven and Carol Jean.
After 39 years of dentistry in Cameron, Larry retired in July 1986 and he and Sarah began a life of community service and travel. One of his first major projects in retirement was to join his friends’ “Save the Depot” campaign in 1987. Larry was among the group of volunteers who physically restored Cameron’s C. B. & Q. Depot, preserving it to become today’s Depot Museum. He was a member of the Cameron United Methodist Church, the Cameron chapter of People to People, the Cameron Historical Society (created from the “Save the Depot” campaign) and the Cameron Historic Preservation Society. Larry received the Pillar of the Community Award (2006) and the DAR Excellence in Community Service (2007). As a couple, Larry and Sarah received the Volunteer of the Year Award (1995) from the Cameron Chamber of Commerce; the Service to Mankind Award (1999) from Sertoma International and the Stella Grinstead Award (2009) from Rural Professionals in Aging.
Larry was an avid photographer who took photos daily. He also enjoyed sailing at Gallatin’s Lake Viking, traveling with many returns to Rocky Mountain National Park he discovered as a young boy with his parents. He enjoyed watching his grandson Grant play baseball, teaching his grandson to play golf, and sharing with Grant his love of planes. Many cousins are grateful for the Graham family book Larry compiled from family histories he solicited in the early 1990s and completed in 1996. In the past few years Larry had begun to play the saxophone again and clarinet and he practiced daily. And at Addington Place, he became an “unofficial” activities director by arranging for showings of selections from his collection of classic movies. Larry was always ready for any new activity and wanted to live life to the fullest each day.
He celebrated his 96th birthday on Monday November 30th .
Surviving are his wife, Sarah; son Lawrence (Katheryn), daughter Carol (Frank) Covey, grandson Grant (Becca) Covey and three great-granddaughters, Nora, Zoey, and Eden Covey.
Memorials may be made to: Cameron Historical Society and Depot Museum, PO Box 189, Cameron MO 64429.
Graveside services will be held at 2:30 PM Wednesday December 9, 2020, at Cameron Memory Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will from 12:00 – 2:00 PM prior to the service at Poland-Thompson Chapel.
For online condolences, visit www.polandthompson.com
Arrangements under the direction of Poland-Thompson Funeral Home, Cameron, MO.
1924 - 2020
Prairie Village, KS- Lawrence McCue Graham, age 96, died early Sunday morning, December 6, 2020, at Addington Place, Prairie Village, Kansas. Larry was born November 30, 1924, to Lawrence Franklin and Vada June (McCue) Graham in Cameron, Missouri, and was their only child. He graduated from Cameron High School in 1942 and attended Wentworth Military Academy, receiving an Associate in Arts (Pre-Dental) in 1944. In June 1944 while serving in the Army Medical Corps, orders were received directing Larry to Kansas City Western Dental College, from where he graduated as a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1947. With WWII ending, he returned to Cameron to join his father’s dental practice for several years but between 1955-57 was called to serve in the 2795th Hospital Group at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Macon, Georgia, with the rank of Captain.
Larry married Sarah Elizabeth Green of Armstrong, Missouri, daughter of Dave and Viola (Harris) Green on August 22, 1948. Larry and Sarah had two children, Lawrence Steven and Carol Jean.
After 39 years of dentistry in Cameron, Larry retired in July 1986 and he and Sarah began a life of community service and travel. One of his first major projects in retirement was to join his friends’ “Save the Depot” campaign in 1987. Larry was among the group of volunteers who physically restored Cameron’s C. B. & Q. Depot, preserving it to become today’s Depot Museum. He was a member of the Cameron United Methodist Church, the Cameron chapter of People to People, the Cameron Historical Society (created from the “Save the Depot” campaign) and the Cameron Historic Preservation Society. Larry received the Pillar of the Community Award (2006) and the DAR Excellence in Community Service (2007). As a couple, Larry and Sarah received the Volunteer of the Year Award (1995) from the Cameron Chamber of Commerce; the Service to Mankind Award (1999) from Sertoma International and the Stella Grinstead Award (2009) from Rural Professionals in Aging.
Larry was an avid photographer who took photos daily. He also enjoyed sailing at Gallatin’s Lake Viking, traveling with many returns to Rocky Mountain National Park he discovered as a young boy with his parents. He enjoyed watching his grandson Grant play baseball, teaching his grandson to play golf, and sharing with Grant his love of planes. Many cousins are grateful for the Graham family book Larry compiled from family histories he solicited in the early 1990s and completed in 1996. In the past few years Larry had begun to play the saxophone again and clarinet and he practiced daily. And at Addington Place, he became an “unofficial” activities director by arranging for showings of selections from his collection of classic movies. Larry was always ready for any new activity and wanted to live life to the fullest each day.
He celebrated his 96th birthday on Monday November 30th .
Surviving are his wife, Sarah; son Lawrence (Katheryn), daughter Carol (Frank) Covey, grandson Grant (Becca) Covey and three great-granddaughters, Nora, Zoey, and Eden Covey.
Memorials may be made to: Cameron Historical Society and Depot Museum, PO Box 189, Cameron MO 64429.
Graveside services will be held at 2:30 PM Wednesday December 9, 2020, at Cameron Memory Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will from 12:00 – 2:00 PM prior to the service at Poland-Thompson Chapel.
For online condolences, visit www.polandthompson.com
Arrangements under the direction of Poland-Thompson Funeral Home, Cameron, MO.