T.E. Graham was 90 years old when he died peacefully in his home on Tuesday, January 9, 2018.  His memorial service will be at 11:00 A.M. Friday, January 19, 2018.  Shane Cornelius will deliver the service held at Ingram Funeral Home in Quinlan, TX.

T.E., better known as Tommy, was not only the youngest child born to Thomas Elisha Graham and Ivory Alice Cathey Graham on April 2, 1927 in Wellington Texas but he was also the last to survive.  Although named after his father, the nurse only put his initials on his birth certificate. His mother would start having children at 18 years old and would finish with number 8, Tommy at age 41.  His father was a horse trader and gave Tommy his first pony as a young child.  He named his horse strawberry and often road him to school.  His father died when he was 10 and after this he lived with his sister Verna in Northern California for about a year.  He moved back to Dallas and started his first job as a paper boy.  At a young age he learned to be generous in helping others and did his part to help his widowed mother. When old enough, he sought work in the United States Navy and served 2 terms. While he was in the Navy he was married briefly and had a son Tommy Wayne that he would not meet for some 40 years. After the war he received training from Southwestern Bell servicing telephone systems.  This set his career and he became known- as a telephone man. He would often visit his mother while she was working at the Dallas zoo. These visits became more frequent when he met a 19 year old girl named Barbara Fay Graham who worked at the concession stand with his mother.  He asked her for a strawberry snow cone and shortly thereafter would ask her to marry him.  November 1, 1952 they married and started a family.  They had 3 children; Gary Steven, Vicki Lyeann and Scott Nelson Graham.  Tommy gained an affectionate title as “Pa” when he became a grandfather in 1981. His grandchildren really loved him. They knew he was always willing to spend time with them. He loved his family and his zeal for caring for them never diminished.  Many witnessed his passion for working and being outdoors. Hard work and helping others was a lifestyle he enjoyed on any occasion. Friends and family can all attest to his self-sacrificing spirit where he joyfully provided any help he could and never asked for anything in return. In fact, when someone needed to borrow a tool from him they soon learned Tommy was going to insist on helping. His mild temper, friendly disposition and hospitable nature drew others to him. He was never too busy for anyone and made a good name during his 9 decades.  He and Barbara were rarely apart during these 65 years. He always found a way to express his love for her. He set a good example for husbands and fathers as one who truly cherished his family.

He is loved and will be missed by his wife of 65 years, Barbara; sons Tommy Wayne and his wife Sherry Johnson, Scott and his wife Laura Graham; daughter Vicki and her husband Calvin Young; grandchildren Shane and Abby Cornelius, Blake Cornelius, Hailey and Alyssa Graham, Ashley Beckham, Holly Green, Patricia and Wes Duncan, Jeremy and Karen Young and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  

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