Dr. James Herbert Graham

A visitation service will be held at Munden Funeral Home, Morehead City, North Carolina at 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2012. A memorial service to celebrate Dr. Graham’s life is planned for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 23, 2012, at All Saints Anglican Church, Morehead City, North Carolina where he was a member. A gathering at the church will immediately follow. Interment will be at a later time in Arlington National Cemetery.

James H. Graham was born April 25, 1921 in Calexico, Imperial County, CA, the fourth child of the late August Kiene Graham and Esther Phyllis Choudoin. August and Esther had six children, Eva (Graham), Bain Metcalf, Henry Darrell Graham, David Graham, Elizabeth (Graham) Ritter and Jesse Graham.

Jim, lived life to the fullest! He was a man of extraordinary strength, passion, generosity and moral character. The Bible verse from Ephesians 6:1-2 best exemplifies Jim’s deep love and commitment to family. “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with promise. That it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” God blessed Jim with a vibrant life of 91 wonderful years! Jim loved his father and mother and was deeply committed to them all of their lives. All of his family loved Jim so much and he had a special unique relationship with each one of them. Jim’s commitment to his family’s educational legacy will live on through the generations to come!

God gave Jim gifts and talents that he used to further the good of mankind. One of his greatest contributions to society was his years of research, training and study in the fields of Dermatology and Dermatopathology. Jim’s dedication and passion for his work will forever influence the practices of his students and colleagues all over the world. Giving was truly Jim’s spiritual gift. He generously contributed to his church and many academic institutions and charitable organizations that have had a positive influence on society. Jim did not waste one moment of his life here on earth. He poured his heart and soul into every task and his life serves as a testimony to all who knew him. Jim’s hobby was following college football, especially the UCLA Bruins and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He was a walking encyclopedia of college football statistics and attended games as often as possible, Go Bruins Go Deacs! In his final days “Dr Jim” was lovingly and tenderly cared for by a wonderful group of caregivers. These caregivers said he was humble and precious, caring and passionate, strong-willed and a fighter. Jim’s credo was “Every Day’s a Bonus” and God truly blessed each and every one of those days! Jim will forever be remembered as a man with a great big heart. We all will miss him!

His career in medicine began when he joined the United States Navy in World War II. In 1943, he entered the V-12 program as a premedical student at Emory University and graduated with a BA Degree in 1945. The U.S. Navy then transferred him for training at the Medical College of Alabama in Birmingham. In 1949, he earned his M.D. from the University of Alabama and completed his internship at UAB Jefferson-Hillman Hospital in 1950. In 1951, shortly before the Korean War, he was transferred to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, NC, where he served as the Flight Surgeon. In August 1951, he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma of the kidney and subsequently had a nephrectomy. His prognosis was to live one year, but through God’s grace along with his faith in Jesus Christ, he survived. After retiring from the Naval Medical Corps, he completed a residency in Dermatology in 1956 at the UCLA Medical Center and VA Hospital. He subsequently did fellowship training in Dermatopathology from 1956 to 1958 at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), in Washington, DC. He then held academic appointments in dermatology and dermatopathology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, from 1958 to 1969 and University of California at Irvine School of Medicine, from 1969 to 1978. He returned to the AFIP as Program Director of Dermatopathology from 1978 to 1988; and from 1988 to1994, he was Director of Dermatopathology at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, CA.

Dr. Graham was an active member in a number of dermatological organizations including Honorary Member of The American Academy of Dermatology (Vice President from 1980-81), Honorary Member of the American Society of Dermatopathology (President 1975-1976), Honorary Member of the American Dermatology Association (Vice President 1986-87), and The American Board of Dermatology (Vice President 1985-86 and President 1986-87).

In 1994, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association. In 2000, he was recognized for Excellence in Teaching of Dermatopathology with the Walter R. Nickel Award. In 2007, he was given the Distinguished Achievement Award by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and most recently at the age of 90, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Dermatology from the American Skin Association.

After almost 37 years of marriage, his first wife, Anna Kathryn (Luiken) Graham, died in 1987. They were blessed with two sons and a daughter. Twice blessed, Jim married Gloria Flippin Graham of Pilot Mountain, NC in 1989. He is survived by his wife Gloria; son James H. Graham Jr. and his wife Susan, son John August Graham and his wife Cathy, daughter Angela Joann (Graham) Woodworth and her husband Bill, and stepson Wayne Meigs Graham and his wife Linda; sister Elizabeth (Graham) Ritter; eleven grandchildren Kindal (Graham) Guzman, Michael Graham, Scott Graham, Deana Woodworth Rosaia, Laura (Graham) Felix, Luiken Woodworth, Amber (Graham) Giles, Sarah (Graham) Parker, Angela Ann Graham, Matthew Graham and Margaret Graham; and four great grandchildren Mia Guzman, Santino Guzman, Avelina Guzman, and James Parker. He is also survived by many nephews and nieces who deeply loved their “Uncle Jimmy”.

Memorial gifts may be made to All Saints Anglican Church 292 McCabe Road, Newport, NC 28570; Hospice of Carteret County, 302 Medical Park Court, Morehead City, NC 28557; Grahams’ Dermatopathology Library at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157; American Academy of Dermatology, 930 East Woodfield Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173; American Dermatological Association, P.O. Box 551301, Davie, Florida 33355; American Society of Dermatopathology, 111 Deer Lake Road, Suite 100, Deerfield, IL 60015.