Austin Stephen Graff

Austin Stephen Graff, age 34, passed away September 2, 2024, in Smithfield, NC. He was born in Orlando, Florida, and moved to North Carolina at the age of 13. He graduated from Green Hope High School in 2008 and joined the United States Marine Corp in 2009. During his 4 ½ years of service he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in the Mediterranean in 2013. He was honorably discharged as a corporal in 2014 and has lived in the Raleigh area since then. He attended Wake Tech and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, hoping to pursue a career in business marketing. While in school, he worked a variety of jobs. One of his favorite jobs was as a bartender at Tribeca Tavern in Cary.
He married Alex Gabrielli in early 2012 and they were married until 2015. He loved his daughters, Savannah and Evelyn, without reservation, and was so very proud of them both.
Austin loved the Lord and his faith was so strong. He worked with youth groups in the past and most recently attended New Hope Church in Durham. Many other veterans count Austin as someone who was there for them during their darkest hours. He could make anybody laugh and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
Tank was his companion dog and had been with him since April of 2021. Austin loved Tank and he adored Austin.
Austin is preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents respectively; Chris and Dodee Graff and Marvin and Donna Williamson. He is survived by his parents, Mark and Beth Graff, his brother and sister-in-law, Collin and Lara Graff, and his daughters, Savannah Gabrielli and Evelyn Graff.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Wednesday, September 11, at 2 pm, at Hope Community Church in Apex.
In lieu of flowers, there will be a donation box at the service for Tank, to help cover some veterinarian expenses to get him ready for adoption. Alternate donations can be made to Wounded Warrior Project at the link below: https://linkpro.cz/Donate2WoundedWarriors