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Robert Eugene “Bob” Graham, 80, of Benton, Iowa, was born on October 12, 1941, in rural Diagonal to Roy Edward and Gladys Fern (Brown) Graham. He was the youngest of six children. He attended school at Mount Ayr, Benton, and Diagonal, class of 1960. He worked on the farm helping his brother’s Don and Dick and other farms in the area.
He worked at Roe Implement when he received his draft notice, on the day President Kennedy was shot, to the U. S. Army. He served in Vietnam and was a member of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Calvary Air Mobile Division. He served from 1963 to 1965. After the service he continued working for Roe Implement until it closed in 1982. He was a mechanic at a few other places. He became a substitute mail carrier and then got a full time route in Diagonal in 1982. He later transferred to a Clearfield route before retiring in 2006.
He married Karyn Kay (Emig) on June 12th, 1966, in Clarinda, Iowa. To this union, a son was born. Rob (friend Heidi Lumbard) and a daughter Kelly LeAnn (husband Daron) Richie.
Bob enjoyed working on cars and tractors, especially making them run harder than originally intended. This love got him into building pulling tractors and pulling pickups. He built a pulling garden tractor especially for his children. He enjoyed deer hunting and taught it to his son and grandsons.
Bob passed away March 24, 2022. He was preceded in death by his parents Roy and Gladys; his sister Betty Jean; brothers Charles Lee “Bud”, Donald Dean (wife Belle), Richard Ray “Dick”; nephew Steve; nephew-in-law Robert Schlapia; in-laws Gerald and Darlene (Lantz) Emig; Rodney Emig, Jerry (Lynne) Emig, and Donna Hardisty.
Bob is survived by his wife of 55 years, Karyn; son Rob (friend Heidi Lumbard); daughter Kelly (husband Daron Richie); two grandsons Trevor Richie and Taylor (wife Jamie) Richie; and three great grandchildren Hailey James and Zoey Lynn Grandfield and Tripp Eugene Richie; sister Shirley (husband Junior) Klejch; in-laws Gary (Linda) Emig, Larry (Carol) Emig, Don Hardisty; many nieces nephews and friends.
Services were held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 28 at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mount Ayr. Burial, with military honors by Morris Herrold Post 395, American Legion of Diagonal and the U.S. Army Honor Guard, followed in the Benton Cemetery. Memorials are to the Waubonsie Community Building in Benton.