Happy 80th birthday, Jim Graham
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
I first met James Edward Graham on Cincinnati’s west side in the fall of 1982. I was 21. He was 45 and about to turn 46.
Jim was a lineman for Cincinnati Bell. I was learning to be an offset press operator, courtesy of master pressman Hanson Duncan, at Rotary Forms Press, Inc. Thanks to Hanson and a few others, I joined the fraternity of master pressmen in the mid-1980s.
Jim and I got along well from the get-go. He was – and is – a sports fan. He enjoys the Reds, Bengals, Ohio State and Notre Dame games.
He’s also good with the TV remote control in his house. Trust me. His grandson, Colin, has inherited the same skill.
On any given fall Saturday afternoon in the 1980s on Brater Avenue, Jim would skip from channel to channel to watch the best college football games of that particular day. The routine would repeat itself with NFL games on Sunday. Jim didn’t smoke or drink, but he was always quick to offer me a cold beer – which I accepted – during the ball games.
We both enjoyed listening to Reds games with Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall on WLW radio. Truth be told, Jim and I have probably talked as much about sports as anything else in the 34 years that we’ve known each other.
Not too long ago, Jim, who is known for his charitable works, was struck by a delivery van near the intersection of McPherson Avenue and Van Vey Street, as a Manna Outreach food pantry truck was being unloaded at a Cincinnati church. This was in 2012.
Cincinnati police said it appeared that Jim (75 years old at the time) tried to stop the van from rolling downhill – by putting himself in front of the damned thing – and fell under the tire. Jim’s actions quite likely saved others from possible injury.
I’m not surprised.
Through our many family conversations, I’ve learned that Jim was born in Adams County (at Gov. Kirker’s Farm) in October 1936. My dad also was born in Adams County in November 1936 at Tranquility in Scott Township. Less than a decade later, they both attended Camp Washington Elementary School in Cincinnati at the same time, around the end of World War II, though they did not know one another.
They did meet each other in March of 1986, the same year both would turn 50. It’s hard for me to believe that that was 30 years ago. But it was.
In March 1986, Jim and my dad stood with our respective families for a wedding ceremony at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church on Queen City Avenue and Ferguson Road on Cincinnati’s west side.
Thirty years later in August 2016, Jim Graham stood with our respective families for another wedding ceremony at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church on Queen City Avenue and Ferguson Road on Cincinnati’s west side for my daughter, Meghan, and her husband, Jeff.
For the last 30 or more years, it’s been difficult to think of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church without thinking of Jim and Judy Graham. For as long as I can remember, they have given of their time, money and efforts to the church. God has blessed them, I have no doubt.
This, without question, is a poor attempt to wish Jim Graham a happy 80th birthday. But I do know this: He has been a great grandfather to his six grandchildren, and a great father-in-law to his two sons-in-law. (I think John Cozine would agree.)
Jim, you are one of the very special people who has come into my life. (Your daughter’s OK, too.)
Your warmth, your sense of humor, your concern for your grandchildren and your personal friendship will always be remembered and appreciated.
I wish you and my own dad a very happy 80th birthday in 2016.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.
Jim was a lineman for Cincinnati Bell. I was learning to be an offset press operator, courtesy of master pressman Hanson Duncan, at Rotary Forms Press, Inc. Thanks to Hanson and a few others, I joined the fraternity of master pressmen in the mid-1980s.
Jim and I got along well from the get-go. He was – and is – a sports fan. He enjoys the Reds, Bengals, Ohio State and Notre Dame games.
He’s also good with the TV remote control in his house. Trust me. His grandson, Colin, has inherited the same skill.
On any given fall Saturday afternoon in the 1980s on Brater Avenue, Jim would skip from channel to channel to watch the best college football games of that particular day. The routine would repeat itself with NFL games on Sunday. Jim didn’t smoke or drink, but he was always quick to offer me a cold beer – which I accepted – during the ball games.
We both enjoyed listening to Reds games with Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall on WLW radio. Truth be told, Jim and I have probably talked as much about sports as anything else in the 34 years that we’ve known each other.
Not too long ago, Jim, who is known for his charitable works, was struck by a delivery van near the intersection of McPherson Avenue and Van Vey Street, as a Manna Outreach food pantry truck was being unloaded at a Cincinnati church. This was in 2012.
Cincinnati police said it appeared that Jim (75 years old at the time) tried to stop the van from rolling downhill – by putting himself in front of the damned thing – and fell under the tire. Jim’s actions quite likely saved others from possible injury.
I’m not surprised.
Through our many family conversations, I’ve learned that Jim was born in Adams County (at Gov. Kirker’s Farm) in October 1936. My dad also was born in Adams County in November 1936 at Tranquility in Scott Township. Less than a decade later, they both attended Camp Washington Elementary School in Cincinnati at the same time, around the end of World War II, though they did not know one another.
They did meet each other in March of 1986, the same year both would turn 50. It’s hard for me to believe that that was 30 years ago. But it was.
In March 1986, Jim and my dad stood with our respective families for a wedding ceremony at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church on Queen City Avenue and Ferguson Road on Cincinnati’s west side.
Thirty years later in August 2016, Jim Graham stood with our respective families for another wedding ceremony at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church on Queen City Avenue and Ferguson Road on Cincinnati’s west side for my daughter, Meghan, and her husband, Jeff.
For the last 30 or more years, it’s been difficult to think of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church without thinking of Jim and Judy Graham. For as long as I can remember, they have given of their time, money and efforts to the church. God has blessed them, I have no doubt.
This, without question, is a poor attempt to wish Jim Graham a happy 80th birthday. But I do know this: He has been a great grandfather to his six grandchildren, and a great father-in-law to his two sons-in-law. (I think John Cozine would agree.)
Jim, you are one of the very special people who has come into my life. (Your daughter’s OK, too.)
Your warmth, your sense of humor, your concern for your grandchildren and your personal friendship will always be remembered and appreciated.
I wish you and my own dad a very happy 80th birthday in 2016.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.