Arthur W. Grahame

Arthur W. Grahame Jr. Arthur W. Grahame Jr., born August 15, 1935, passed on in his home in Shipman on Thursday, August 1, 2013. Art was born and raised on Long Island, New York. Married in 1961, Art and his wife, Bette, have two daughters, Janet, an artist, who lives in Charlottesville with her husband, Bruce Nault, and Lauren who teaches in an international school in Istanbul, Turkey, where she resides with her significant other, Ayhan Golge. Art was awarded a full scholarship to Yale University by the Ford Foundation. He graduated with degrees in Civil Engineering and Business. Soon after retiring from a career as a manufacturer's rep in the water pollution control field, Art and Bette moved to Shipman in 1986. They were seeking a lifestyle change and inspired by the TV show The Waltons, were excited to start their new life in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Art became a math teacher and department chairman at The Miller School of Albemarle, where he taught for ten years before retiring. A member of First Church of Christ, Scientist in Charlottesville, Art served as Treasurer for more than 12 years. Extremely passionate about singing barbershop harmony, he was a valued member of the Jeffersonland Barbershop Chorus and sang in several quartets. Highlights for him were performing with The Blue Ridge Connection quartet, in The Music Man at Ash Lawn- Highland in 1997 and at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville with the Dreamland quartet in 2012. Art, who shared his home with many rescued animals, was a long-time transporter for the Humane Society/SPCA of Nelson County, driving thousands of puppies from Almost Home Pet Adoption Center to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, Massachusetts, as part of a life-saving puppy rescue program. There will be a memorial service at The Miller School of Albemarle on Thursday, August 15, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. followed by a celebration of Art's life through music, memorabilia and shared memories. Funeral arrangments are being handled through the Cremation Society of Virginia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Almost Home Pet Adoption Center, 29 Stagebridge Rd., Lovingston, VA 22949 or The Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300, Charlottesville, VA 22911 www.hopva.org.

This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.