Robert Lawrence Graham

Long-time Charlottesville radio newsman, Rob Graham, age 69, passed away suddenly on April 20, 2024, in Nashville, TN.

A beloved voice on WINA's AM and FM stations, Graham joined the Charlottesville Radio Group in 1982 hired by former WINA News Director Sarah McConnell, whom Graham eventually succeeded. During his time leading WINA news coverage, the station won multiple awards from Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters for outstanding news operations. In 2011, Graham was awarded News Anchor of the Year at a non-metro station.

Retiring in November 2016 after 32 years of rising before dawn to deliver a mix of serious and fun stories, Graham did not stay away from the station for long. Before his passing, he often covered shifts for vacationing staff. He also shared the microphone, and lots of laughter, every Thursday with Sherry Taylor on her Z95.1 Morning Show.

A son of the late Ruth Gibson Graham and Lawrence Ardell Graham, Rob was born in Clinton, Iowa July 14, 1954 (on Bastille Day, he would remind folks.) He graduated in 1972 from Clinton High School where he played football, first honed his deep baritone in the CHS Acapella choir, and was a member of the National Honor Society. He moved on to Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, IA where he again played football, but more importantly began his life-long passion for radio at KRNL, the campus station. Graham's early professional steps after graduation included stints at local stations in Clinton, IA, before making a significant impact at KWPC/KMFH in Muscatine, IA.

Rob spent the last week of his life playing golf in Nashville with his brothers, Steve and Jim, and visiting old friends and family. Rob is survived by his brothers, his sisters-in-law, Ann and Lois, his nieces Lillian Graham, Emily Nolan, Caroline Graham, Annie Shortle, Caroline Brandtner, and their husbands, nephew Joe Graham, his wife Gianna, thirteen grand nephews and nieces, many dear cousins, and countless friends.

Remembering Rob, Jay James, his colleague at WINA, delivered one of many tributes to a man who was at once a local hero and a private man: "The loss of a treasure of a man, who has so many more layers of kindness than people know."

There will be a celebration of his life in Charlottesville in June, the date and place to be announced. For those who wish to make a donation in Rob's memory, please do so at Charlottesville's ToyLift Charities. Online donations can be made on the website https://toylift.org. Checks payable to Toy Lift Charities can be mailed to P.O. Box 6762 Charlottesville, VA 22906.