Jill Whitman Graham

Jill Whitman Graham was an incandescent force of nature; her unmistakable laugh and prolific wit often entered the room before she did. When she arrived in Austin in the 70’s from the Northeast, she was mystified by aspects of Texas culture. However, 50 years later, Jill has left her own imprint on Austin life. She shaped it into her own expression of her inimitable style and values. Once, when a friend lamented, “I cannot find a job,” Jill was incredulous, saying “If you can’t find a job, create one.” Over the years, such “creations” became Jill’s signature in her summer camps for children, her well-known tutoring service, her entry into the field of learning disabilities, her mark on the high school classroom, and her special regard for all living creatures, leading her to create her own “zoo” in both her classroom and her home.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio the only child of George Whitman and Evelyn “Petie” Busch Whitman, Jill attended the Doherty School from grades one through twelve. She graduated in 1960, fluent in French, bound for Vassar College. Although she wanted to be pre-med when she arrived in Poughkeepsie, her tender heart could not move past the dissection of a cat. Instead, she poured her lifelong intellectual curiosity into courses such as drama, literature, and Italian. Her senior year she went on a blind date with dashing, tall Texan, Malcolm Smith Graham that forever changed the course of her life. Shortly after Jill’s college graduation, Malcolm and Jill were married in July 1964.

They lived briefly in Vermont before moving to Philadelphia where Malcolm earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance. Their four years in Philadelphia saw two additional milestones: the birth of their son Stephen Thomas Graham, and Jill’s entry into the Catholic high school classroom of the Little Flower School for Girls, where she taught English and where she was mentored by her lifelong friend and surrogate mother, Sister Regina. Teaching in a Catholic school was to become Jill’s vocation.

In 1971, the little family moved to Austin, where Malcolm joined an accounting firm in his hometown. In 1976, Jill and Malcolm moved into the family homestead (where they would happily remain for over four decades) which had been one of the original structures in Tarrytown. They brought baby daughter Katharine “Kaitlin” home to Galewood Place where they raised Stephen and Kaitlin and too many cats and dogs to name by name. Originally partial to cocker spaniels, soon they were adopting whoever wandered by and needed a home.

Over the years, their house on Galewood became “headquarters” for all. The door was never locked. It was a way station for people who needed a pit stop: to visit, to drink coffee, to learn to read, to learn how to write a research paper or anything else. Jill was tireless in every endeavor.

She received her Masters in Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin and successfully ran her legendary tutoring business before dedicating fifteen years to St. Michael’s Catholic Academy. Jill was not just the beloved freshman biology teacher at St. Michael’s; she was an institution and a rite of passage. Jill never met a snake, lizard, or freshman she didn’t immediately and unconditionally love. Her diminutive figure (but larger than life personality) – roaming the halls carrying a hedgehog or toad – was a familiar sight to all and a disconcerting surprise to many a visitor.

Jill’s singular brand of joie de vivre will be sorely missed by her former students and colleagues, her regular Tarrytown haunts where everyone knew her name, her incredible circle of friends both from her childhood in Cincinnati and Austin friends of five decades, and of course her dearly loved family.

Malcolm, Jill’s beloved husband of nearly 50 years, died in 2014. Jill is survived by her son Stephen Graham, daughter-in-law Andrea Schokker and grandson Aidan Lucas; daughter Kaitlin Graham Guthrow, son-in-law Andrew and grandchildren Sophia Elizabeth and Matthew Stuart; sister-in-law Nancy Graham Oelz and husband Dave; niece Emily Oelz Belden and husband Garrett; two first cousins who were raised with Jill like siblings, Alison Beall and Christopher “Kit” Beall and wife Sheila; Lucas the cat and Ears the dog.

Jill was loved and supported by so many. Four families embraced Jill as if she had been blood kin, especially after Malcolm passed away including the Staytons, the Dolces, the Cowdens and the Finleys. Mark Finley’s stalwart support in ensuring Jill was able to attend Mass each Saturday meant the world to her.

The family would like to express their thanks to Thomas Hernandez, Mary Weed and Patience Buchanan for going above and beyond in their caregiving support.

No flowers, please. You know what Jill would have thought of that. Every plant or flower that was ever delivered to her home never lasted long. In lieu of gifts, please consider making a gift in her memory to Austin Pets Alive! www.austinpetsalive.org where Jill adopted beloved Ears or to the Alumni Scholarship Fund at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy. St. Michael’s is grateful to Jill Graham for inspiring generations of students. Memorial gifts can be made in Jill’s honor by visiting www.SMCA.com/alumnigiving or by contacting the Development Office at 512-225-0838 or [email protected]. All Jill Graham memorial gift donors will be recognized in the school’s annual report.

Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, the memorial celebration of Jill’s extraordinary life has been postponed, with a future date to be determined.

We all have our favorite stories of Jill. Please share those in the online guest book at www.wcfish.com