W. Waverly Graham III

Walter Waverly Graham III passed away September 8, 2026, at his home in Alpharetta, Georgia, with family members and his wife of 71 years, Ann Graham, at his side. Wave spent nearly four years in hospice, gracefully battling Parkinson’s Disease. It was a difficult but beautiful testimony to the determination and deep faith with which he lived his life, and the love story that compelled him to be with Ann, his high school sweetheart, for as long as possible. Even the earthly ending of that love story was magical.

Wave was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, with his sister Jane (Gray). His father Walter Graham was a beloved engineering math professor at both Vanderbilt University and the US Naval Academy. And his mother Irene was the first of her Mississippi family to go to college, attending Peabody College in the 1920s.

Wave had an uncanny intellect and a quiet authentic confidence, claiming to be able to remember his own birth (not a joke). When he was four years old he traveled by train from Nashville to Philadelphia, Mississippi, by himself. This included a change of trains in Memphis. He loved attending Vanderbilt Engineering Camp with his father’s math and surveying colleagues in the summer. He also cherished his trips to visit cousins at his grandparents’ farm in Turnertown, Mississippi. And at age 12, he built the house he grew up in on Alton Road with his father, using materials shipped in by train from that same Mississippi farm.

Wave attended Hillsboro High School (class of 1951) where he was top of his class, and president of both the student body and his high school fraternity (Kappi Phi). But he would tell you that his greatest high school achievement by far was meeting Ann Bennett (“Annie B”), his future wife. The two began dating, fell madly in love, and their love story never stopped.

When Wave graduated and went on to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Ann ultimately followed him to the nearby University of Maryland. The couple were married in the Naval Academy Chapel the same afternoon Wave graduated 4th in his class of 700, June 3, 1955. After four more years in the Navy as Lieutenant Commander on Destroyers, the couple moved back to Nashville where Wave got his Masters in Nuclear Engineering at Vanderbilt, then on to San Diego for a job at General Atomic. Here, he learned the computer skills that would prove invaluable later (thanks to the coding prowess of an Indian prince). Ultimately, he decided to get his PhD at Georgia Tech, teaching nuclear engineering there until he finished his doctorate and started a computer technology company that would change his life, and many others. That company, Technical Analysis Corporation (TAC), eventually invented the “IRMA board” technology that allowed “dumb” desktop PCs to connect to an IBM mainframe - and therefore with each other. It turned out to be the genesis of the world’s computer networking industry.

But Wave wasn’t through. After selling TAC, he and Ann started a painted furniture company outside of Venice, Italy, called Patina. Ann was the designer and Wave, the business manager. It became one of the foremost painted furniture companies in the world, featured on the covers of Architectural Digest and other designer publications. It was also one of Ann and Wave’s greatest passions, fostering lifelong relationships with the Italian families who became their partners.

Wave’s other great passion was the family lake house on Lake Burton, built in the early 1970s, which became the highest form of “happy place” for him and the whole family.

Along the way, Wave was a kind, generous and compassionate man who never hesitated when asked for help or advice. He loved a good joke, every Army-Navy football game, and a stiff bourbon and ginger ale. He was an exceptional role model for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, gently instilling in all of them an appreciation for the authenticity and power of his faith in God, and his thankfulness for the sacrifice of his Son Jesus. For those who know, “333” in the Baptist Hymnal was his favorite hymn. He rarely missed a Charles Stanley episode on tv. And he deeply loved his small group study-mates from Andy Stanley’s North Point Church in Alpharetta and Grace Bible Church in Mountain City, as well as the members of his Sunday School class at First Baptist Church of Roswell.

He reveled in travels with Ann to some of the world’s most beautiful, inspirational and sometimes surprising places. And he made sure to do the same with the rest of the family – especially to Jamaica, France and Italy (which he and Ann visited over 80 times). Once there, he was just as gracious and engaged with the staff at all of these various destinations, many of whom still talk about him to this day.

There is not enough room to tell Waverly Graham’s full story and do it justice. This was a special man who lived an extraordinary life right to the very end. He is survived by his wife Ann, son Kerry (Linda), daughter Holly (Brook), 5 grandchildren - Bennett (Amy), Avery (Jim), Madeline (Sean), Graham (Kim), Colby - and 7 great-grandchildren (with one on the way), as well as his sister Jane Gray, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and a large collection of truly special friends.

Funeral services will be held at the First Baptist Roswell church on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 11am eastern time, followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to First Baptist Roswell.

ADDRESS:

First Baptist Roswell

710 Mimosa Boulevard

Roswell, GA 30075

(770) 270-1644