Curtis Jay Graff

Curtis Jay Graff, a loving husband, father, grandfather, teacher, and coach of Boonsboro, Maryland died on Friday, August 29 at age 79.

As a boy, Curtis played stickball on the streets of Jackson Heights in Queens, NY and later basketball on the grounds of St. Maria Goretti High School. Lover of all things outdoors, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and later was an advisor for the local high adventure Explorer post, with memories of 2am football games on a trip to Norway.

A 1963 graduate of St. Maria Goretti High school, he earned an A.A. at Hagerstown Junior College where he played basketball before attending Frostburg State College, where he lettered in football and graduated with a B.S. in 1968. He later completed master's coursework at Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College.

His first teaching job was at Pocomoke High School, but he moved to Williamsport High School in 1969 where he taught history until an illness forced early retirement in 2003. A teaching style that could generously be called loquacious revealed his deep love of his country in all its glory and faults. He especially enjoyed discussing the Civil War and taught an elective on it where students would tour Antietam and volunteer to set up luminaries on the battlefield.

Curtis's true calling was coaching. For over 50 years he served as a head, assistant, or volunteer coach at Williamsport, North, South, and Smithsburg High Schools as well as Hagerstown Community College. During that time he was an Athletic Director and coached boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls indoor track, boys and girls basketball, and boys and girls outdoor track. He has been a part of 25 county, 23 league/conference, 25 district, and 9 state championship teams and has supported multiple county, league, and district individual champions along with 60 individual state champions and 18 relay state championship teams. In 2017 he was inducted into the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame.

Coach Graff reveled in developing players and especially teams. Each practice was meticulously scripted in handwritten, all caps schedules which included introductory motivational messages and notes on personal points of emphasis for that day. Generations of track athletes rued their personalized interval charts, developed from USTA research and specific to their target events and time of the season. He prided himself in never cutting a player from any team; his philosophy was if you were willing to invest the time and effort, he would invest in you. And while he loved all athletes he coached, he had a special place for the somewhat less talented but scrappy players who would show their passion by working hard to exceed their personal best. He spent thousands of hours watching game tapes to record stats that often only he would ever see; hundreds of hours driving across Maryland to scout potential playoff opponents he might never meet. His anger at practice or game only came from a lack of effort or a violation of fair competition; perhaps the latter is why he spent over 40 years on the MPSSAA Track and Field Committee and 33 years as the regional director of Girls Basketball. Coach Graff loved athletic competition so much that he became a US Track and Field official for fun and would take a yearly "vacation" coaching basketball at the Morgan Wootten basketball camp at Mt. St. Mary's University. And he loved mentoring coaches, proud of their excellence even when it came at the expense of one of his teams.

When not teaching or coaching, Curtis spent time pampering his golden retrievers who will expect you to slip them some food right from your plate if you come for dinner. He enjoyed Notre Dame football with the fatalistic and guarded optimism true to his Catholic upbringing, rarely cheering but always watching and hoping. His passion projects were improving the circa 1790s house he grew up in, for which he had a yearly themed picnic for friends and family, playing old Nintendo historical strategy games, volunteering with Toys for Tots, and making small donations to an untold number of charities, for which he was rewarded with good will and more peel-off address stickers than could be used in five lifetimes. He was an active member of the Williamsport Lions Club and learned how to make funnel cakes on their behalf.

Curtis is survived by his wife of 54 years Sandra (Sullivan) Graff, children Benjamin Graff (wife Kylie) of North Carolina and Steffanie Graff-Rapoza (husband Gregg) of Maryland, grandchildren Owen, Amelia, Katherine, and Isla, and his brother James Graff of Nevada. They will remember his 2-35 career record in the yearly Easter egg cracking competition, his meticulously staged Christmas villages and presents, and his "secret ingredient" chili and marina recipes used to clear out the pantry and cooked in the largest pot in the house. They will smile remembering his attempts to convince us all that he wasn't hoarding and organizing like his mom; the irony dripped like sweat from his circa 1987 shirts and holey shoes as he wrote down the day's solar output from the roof panels "just in case" the electric company calculation were off. But mostly they'll remember how they never parted without a hug and being told how much he loved them.

He is also survived by his brothers- and sisters-in-law Sue Graff of Tennessee, Dave and Elaine Sullivan of Virginia, Cathy Sullivan of Maryland, Pat and Judy Sullivan of New Hampshire, Dick and Sue Sullivan of Maryland, and Stuart Sullivan of Florida, as well as over a dozen nieces and nephews who are probably still wondering what time he'll roll in to begin trading Christmas stocking treats.

He was preceded in death by his mother Mary Catherine (Urban) Graff and father Vincent James Graff, his brothers Dennis Graff and Kevin Graff, and his brothers-in-law Neal Modglin, Paul Sullivan, and Don Sullivan, and his sister-in-law Lori Sullivan.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the American Red Cross in honor of Curtis's summers spent as a swimming instructor, to Toys for Tots, or to a local charity of your choosing.

A viewing will be held on Saturday, September 6 from 4-6pm at Osborne Funeral Home, 425 S. Conococheague Street, Williamsport, MD 21795. The funeral home will be open after 12:00 noon on Saturday for the convenience of family and friends. Dress up if you'd like, but if you're able he'd appreciate it if you could come instead in shorts and a t-shirt, jersey, or warm-up from a favorite high school or college team as a reminder that life is a game and we were all on the same team all along.

Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family, according to Curtis's wishes. He always had a plan for everything.

Online condolences may be made to the family at: www.osbornefuneralhome.net