Robert E. “Bob” Graham was born in Mitchell, Indiana to John Elmo Graham and Gladys Maud Bessant Graham. He passed away, after a long illness, during the early hours of Monday, May 1, 2017 at 90 years of age. At age one year, he and his brother and sister went to live in Winchester, England with their maternal grandmother. During the early war (WWII) years, Bob served in the fire service as a motorcycle messenger, bringing word to the various fire departments of disasters following German bombings in the area. At the age of 17, Bob came back to the USA and on the day after he turned 18, he enlisted in the US Navy, Construction Battalion, the “SeaBees”, where he served in China and the Philippines until the end of the World War II. He also served during the Korean War.

After serving in the war, he settled in Alameda, CA and graduated from Alameda High School and San Francisco State College. He earned a Master’s degree in Religious Education from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, while serving as a youth minister at Piedmont Community Church in Piedmont. Following graduation from PSR, he become the Director of Religious Education at the Church of the Valley (Congregational) in Santa Clara California where he met his future wife, Joan Lindquist. Bob and Joan were married in 1960. Bob was a youth minister in Congregational churches in Beaverton Oregon and Sherman Oaks California. In 1969, he was ordained and served churches in Bayport Minnesota, Emporia Kansas, and returning to the East Bay Area in 1978, in Berkeley California. He retired in 1994.

Bob is survived by his wife of 56 years, Joan; son Pete Graham (Becky) of Martinez CA; daughter Terry Roy (Dan) of Clearlake Oaks CA; grandson Dallen Graham of Martinez; and nieces and nephews in England.

Services will be held at Sunset View Mortuary in El Cerrito on Monday, May 15, 2017 at 10:00 am, with burial at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon. Donations may be made to the charity of your choice.