Cracker was born in Springfield, IL, on February 16, 1937, to Hugh Joseph Graham, Jr. and Edith Mary Larmon Graham.
Except for his college years, Cracker spent his entire life in Springfield, living over 70 years on Glenwood Avenue. He attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School and Cathedral Boys High School (now Sacred Heart Griffin), before attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he received a liberal arts degree in mathematics and a juris doctorate law degree. While there, he enjoyed his membership in Beta Theta Pi social fraternity and Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. During his freshman year, he met his wife of 62 years, Sallie Joan Cappa. They married August 8, 1959 in Dixon, IL, and returned to Springfield in 1961. That year, Cracker joined the family law firm of Graham and Graham, founded in 1908, to practice with his father, his grandfather Hugh J. Graham, and his great-uncle James J. Graham. Cracker continued professionally in the firm for the following 50-plus years. He was a member of the Sangamon County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He was admitted to practice in the State of Illinois, the Illinois Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the US Supreme Court.
Cracker belonged to a variety of community and social organizations, and served on numerous committees and boards, including St. John's Hospital Foundation, the former Springfield College in Illinois, Catholic Care Center, St. Joseph's Home, Standard Mutual Insurance Company, and Illini Country Club. He was a lifetime member of Blessed Sacrament Church. The pleasure and focus of Cracker's life was family and raising his three daughters on Glenwood Avenue, with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins sharing the block.
Cracker's wife Sallie predeceased him in 2021, and he is survived by his three daughters and their families: Betsy Weber of Park Hills, KY and her children, Maggie (Kyle McGrail), Nick, and Lily and granddaughter, Nellie; Laurel (Paul) Burke of Eden Prairie, MN and their children, Hugh, Henry, and Samantha; and Susan (David) Cross of Springfield, IL and their children, Graham, Isabel, and Agnes Clare; two brothers, Philip (Carol) Graham and Donald (Pat) Graham and their respective children, (Philip (deceased), Deborah, Denise, and Hugh, Don, Sarah, Maureen, Louis and Edie), and special sister-in-law, Laurel Cappa of Washington D.C., and several cousins.
Memorial Gathering and Mass: Family will receive friends from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 1725 S. Walnut St., Springfield. Mass will follow at 12:00 p.m. with Rev. Jeffery Grant, celebrant. Immediately after the Mass, the family will be hosting Cracker's and Sallie's friends at Illini Country Club.
Cracker's body has been donated to the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois.
Memorials may be made to St. John's Foundation, 800 East Carpenter, Springfield, IL 62769 or St. Patrick's Grade School, 1800 S. Grand Avenue East, Springfield, IL 62703.
The family is being served by Butler Funeral Home - Springfield, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield, IL.
