Jean Charlotte Graham

Jean Charlotte Graham, a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who so enjoyed bridge she continued playing well past her hundredth birthday, died March 1, 2016 at her home in Bremerton, Washington, surrounded by family and friends. The elder daughter of Hubert and Lena Grantham, she was born Aug. 12, 1915 in Pattonsburg, Missouri. Her father was a car dealer, and she started driving at age 12, ferrying vehicles between dealerships. After high school, she moved to Kansas City to work as executive secretary of the Builders Association, and met her future husband, Attorney William Alexander Graham. They married July 3, 1940 in Cameron, Missouri, and traveled to New York, New Orleans and New Mexico while he trained to be skipper of a Navy PT boat. Following his service in the Pacific during World War II they settled in Kansas City, where he resumed his law practice. The couple then moved to San Diego. In San Diego Jean worked in her husband’s office for several years as his office manager and legal secretary until his appointment as a municipal judge.

Jean had been active in the San Diego Bar Association Auxiliary and served as chairwoman of the annual Blackstone Ball. Following her husband’s retirement in 1975 the couple moved to Bremerton, Washington, where Mr. Graham died in 1976. Jean is survived by her son, Bob Graham, and daughter-in-law, Betsy Graham, of Ledyard, Connecticut; her grandson, Tyler Graham, and his wife, Cassie, of Ave Maria, Florida, and their six children, Catherine, Andrew, Lucy, Emily, Matthew and Veronica. She was predeceased by her sister, Kathryn Childs, and a son, Alexander Graham. Jean also will be greatly missed by her former daughter-in-law, Sheryl Stevens, her caregiver, Letty Parker, and her many friends and bridge companions. Jean was so passionate about the game of bridge the commander of a nuclear submarine once invited her and friends to play aboard his vessel. She also played with friends only a few days after taking ill last week. As her son recalled, “She never missed a trick.” Jean recently received a birthday card from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama upon reaching the century mark. Her son Bob remembers his mother also loved driving, and often served as chauffeur during the family’s many trips around the country. She proudly drove one of the first Oldsmobile Hydromatics, and, at the base of Colorado’s most famous mountain, a guard attempted to stop her, saying, “Lady, you can’t drive an automatic shift up Pike’s Peak.” Her response: “Watch me!” Sure enough, the car zoomed to the top of the mountain

with Mrs. Graham at the wheel. Services for Jean Graham in Bremerton are private. A celebration of her life will be held in late spring. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jean’s honor to her favorite local charity, St. Vincent dePaul of Bremerton, 1117 N. Callow Ave, Bremerton, WA or to her great-grandchildrens’ school's Scholarship Fund, Rhodora J. Donahue Academy of Ave Maria, 4955 Seton Way, Ave Maria, Florida 34142. Jean loved her visits to Ave Maria and enjoyed watching her grandson, Tyler, and his family, as they grew in their new home town.