William Richard Graham

July 1, 1933 – July 23, 2019

William (“Bill”) Graham grew up in The Bronx and in Washington Heights of New York City, with his father Saul, his mother Maude, and his younger brother Robert (“Bob”). Bill was a New York City chess champion during high school and graduated from The Bronx High School of Science. He then attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute to study architecture and engineering. He served in the United States Army in Korea during the Korean War and was honorably discharged after the end of the war.

After returning from his military service to Washington Heights, he married his loving wife of nearly 60 years, Shari. Bill and Shari had two children, Marla and Steven, and raised them in Forest Hills of Queens, New York, where Bill and Shari remained living until they moved to Tamarac, Florida in 2002.

Bill spent the majority of his career doing work he loved as a construction executive in New York City. He managed multi-million dollar large construction projects for general contractors and eventually transitioned to working for owners overseeing the work of the general contractors they engaged. Among his favorite jobs and accomplishments were when he worked as a Vice-President of Construction for a general contractor in New York early in his career and when in the later years of his career he worked directly for Fordham University and Pratt Institute in New York overseeing the construction of dormitory buildings, academic buildings, and faculty residences.

Bill was a very loving husband to his wife Shari and to his two children, Marla and Steven. He took great pride in being a devoted family man and decided while he was serving in the Army that was what he wanted for his future. He was very honest, ethical, and hard working and passed on his ethics of hard work and honesty to both of his children. He was a warm, kind, easy-going, patient, loving man with a great sense of humor and a positive attitude towards life and all those who were fortunate enough to know him.

Bill enjoyed seeing his children Marla and Steven grow up and get married themselves. He loved Marla’s husband Paul and Steven’s wife Kimberley, who loved Bill very much too. Bill also loved and was very proud of his two grandchildren Sarah and Kevin, who are Marla’s children. He was blessed to become the great grandfather of Sarah’s young children Jackson and River.

Bill and Shari had many close friends who were lifelong friends of many decades. They both had the kinds of personalities who knew how to get along with anyone and everyone. They enjoyed dining out, good food, occasional travel, and social interaction with the fabulous friends they were blessed to have.

Bill’s wife Shari developed many health problems during her life, including diabetes and kidney disease. Bill was a devoted husband who took care of his wife in every way that he could.

Bill developed Alzheimer’s disease during his later years, and his devoted wife Shari took care of him too as best she could for as long as she could, given the limitations of her own health problems. Bill spent the last seven years of his life in a memory care facility where he received excellent care. Shari predeceased Bill in 2015.

From the time Bill was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease until his life ended, Bill faced his diagnosis and every day of his life with courage, a positive and accepting attitude, and a strong will to keep on living. This was consistent with how he had always faced other challenges throughout his life before developing Alzheimer’s disease, such as when he would occasionally during his long construction career have to maintain his confident, persistent, and positive attitude during sometimes lengthy periods of unemployment due to the volatility and economy-dependent nature of the construction industry.

Bill died peacefully in his sleep on July 23, 2019 at the age of 86.

He is survived by his son Steven and his daughter Marla and their spouses Kimberley and Paul, his grandchildren Sarah and Kevin, his great grandchildren Jackson and River, and his brother Bob, all of whom will greatly miss him and his kind, loving, sweet personality.

Bill’s funeral will be held on Friday, July 26, 2019 at Star of David Memorial Gardens Funeral Chapel located at 7701 Bailey Road, North Lauderdale, Florida 33068. The funeral service will begin promptly in the chapel at 9:45 a.m. Those who would like to visit with and to express their condolences to his family prior to the start of the funeral service are invited to come beginning at 9:15 a.m.

Following the funeral, burial will take place at the South Florida National Cemetery located at 6501 South State Road 7, Lake Worth, Florida 33449. The committal service at the cemetery will begin at 12:45 p.m.

Following the burial, those having attended the funeral and burial will gather for a meal of condolence at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant located at 9942 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496 (on the southeast corner of State Road 7 and Clint Moore Road).

On Monday, July 29, 2019, shiva will be observed at Marla and Paul’s synagogue B’nai Shalom located at 300 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, New Jersey 07052 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a prayer service from 8:00 p.m. to 8:20 p.m.

On Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at 8:15 p.m., immediately following the normal conclusion of the Solo/ Small Law Firm Networking Group dinner that will be held that evening in the private room at Maggiano’s Little Italy located at 21090 St. Andrews Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, any of Steven’s friends and colleagues who would like to remain after the conclusion of the networking group dinner to be of comfort and to participate in a brief prayer service are invited to remain for the minyan. Any additional friends and colleagues who would like to join them at 8:15 p.m. at Maggiano’s Little Italy for the minyan are also welcome to come join them at that time.

Charitable donations in William Graham’s memory may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8517, (855) 448.3997, www.woundedwarriorproject.org, or to Make-A-Wish America, 1702 E. Highland Avenue, Suite 400, Phoenix, Arizona 85016, (800) 722-9474, www.wish.org.

Blessed is God who gave Bill life and such a kind and loving soul, as well as a great sense of humor and a family, a brother, and many dear friends who could not have loved him more.