Myra Graff

Myra J. Graff, 90, of Kankakee, died Sunday (April 10, 2005) at the Miller Center.She was born June 30, 1914, in Johnston City, to Clara and James White, both now deceased.The former Myra Jane White was married to Dr. Richard J. Graff in Danville, on July 10, 1948. Dr. Graff retired in 1966, after a 37-year career with the State Mental Health Department. He died in 1981. At the time of his retirement he was superintendent of Manteno State Hospital.Surviving Mrs. Graff are six nieces and two nephews; several great-nieces and great-nephews; and several great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews.Two sisters, Vivian Favorite of Sarasota, Fla., and Norma Lowe of Pana, are now deceased.Mrs. Graff graduated from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, in 1936. In 2001 the college honored her with the Community Service Award. She taught in high schools in Jasonville, Ind., and at Chester, Tuscola and Danville in Illinois.She also worked in the personnel department of the State Civil Service Commission in Springfield.She had attended summer schools at Indiana State Teachers' College, University of Colorado, Butler University and Indiana University.She had served as president of the American Association of University Women here and as president of the Kankakee County Medical Auxiliary. In the Illinois State Medical Auxiliary she had served on several hospitality committees for national conventions. In 1991, she served as historian for the Kankakee Country Club's 75th year. She was a member of the Kankakee Historical Society, the Kankakee Symphony, the Kankakee Valley Theatre, Asbury United Methodist Church and the Kankakee Country Club.She had been active in theater groups, including Danville's Red Mask Theatre group, and had served on the Charter Board for the Kankakee Valley Theatre. Also, she had served 15 years on the Helen Wheeler Center Board, an organization for which her husband had served as president. She was a former member of the Symphony Chorus and the Sweet Adelines Chorus.She wrote and presented many light-hearted and hilarious skits around town, especially in golf groups, and she maintained a strong interest in all the arts -- dance, theatre, symphony, etc. An active sports enthusiast all her life, she was deeply involved with tennis from the age of nine through college, and played golf all the years after college.In addition to three holes-in-one, she felt her greatest accomplishment in golf was a score of 79 on Sept. 18, 1979 at the Elks Country Club. She also participated in many tournaments sponsored by the Illinois Women's Golf Association.In 1998, she was named as Riverside's Samaritan of the Year, and in 2001 she was appointed to Riverside's Foundation Board. She was a member of Riverside's Legacy group and of Mayo Hospital's Legacy group. She held an honorary lifetime membership at Provena-St. Mary's Fitness Center, and in 2002 she was given an honorary lifetime membership in the Kankakee Country Club's Lady Golfers' 18-hole group.Visitation will be from 11 a.m. Thursday until the 1 p.m. services at Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, West Kankakee.Burial will be in Mound Grove Gardens.Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley or to the donor's choice.