Roy Dale Graham

Roy Dale Graham, aged 77, of Lee's Summit, Missouri, passed away after a short illness on August 24, 2024.
This is pretty long, so here's the information on his service: We are planning a Visitation on Friday, September 6th, 2024, at 9:30 AM at the Queen of the Holy Rosary Church, Overland Park, Kansas https://www.queenoftheholyrosary.org. His Eulogy will be read at 10:15 AM, followed by a Mass at 10:30 AM, which will be livestreamed: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbCb66pYX74AIN57H5IDHOY1nCu0OTfJe We will be planning a Celebration of Roy's life at a later date.
Roy was a lifelong area resident and the oldest of eight children, born on April 7th, 1947, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was predeceased by his mother and father, Margaret Mary (Driscol) Graham and William Homer Graham, and brothers David Dale Graham and Philip Dale Graham.
Roy is survived by his loving wife Sharon (Shere) Elizabeth Graham (Lee's Summit, Missouri), favorite daughter Jennifer Lynn Coffey (Osceola, Missouri), loving sons William Dale Graham (Overland Park, Kansas), and Jeffery Dale Graham (Overland Park, Kansas), stepsons Kyle Alexander Parker (Lee's Summit, Missouri), Kevin Christopher Parker & partner Katarina Woroniak (Independence, Missouri), grandchildren Ethan David Graham (Gardner, Kansas), Matthew Stephen Graham (Wife Clara Stiles-Graham) (Pittsburgh, Kansas), Alex David Graham (New Jersey), Austin Dale Graham (Blue Springs, Missouri), Zachary Tyler-Wayne Milliron (Pleasanton, Kansas), Andrew Charles Milliron (Osceola, Missouri), Breanna Lynn Milliron (Lenexa, Kansas), and Isabella Rose Parker (Lee's Summit, Missouri). His great grandchildren included Matt and Clara's adorable kids, Thatcher Wayne Graham and Eliana Rae (Ellie) Graham. Roy also greatly loved his Goddaughter, Allison Petroff (Mason, Michigan), Bella's Mom, Danielle Rose Wright and her two other beautiful girls, Amelia Michelle Wright and Aria June Blair (Lee's Summit, MO.)
But wait, there's more! Roy is also survived by the Graham clan: Favorite Sister Barbara Ann Hamilton and partner Jeff Schott (Houston, TX), Brothers Larry Dale Graham (Ann) (Prairie Village, Kansas), Steven Dale Graham (Drexel, Missouri),
Arthur Dale Graham (Diane) (Olathe, Kansas), & Martin Dale Graham (Susan) (Overland Park, Kansas).
He is also survived by sisters and brothers in law Kristin Lynn Alexander (Ed DeConinck) (Independence, Missouri), Michael Dean Alexander (Kimberly) (Blue Springs, Missouri), Sarah Graham (Overland Park, Kansas), Tina Cervantes-Graham (Overland Park, Kansas) and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Roy was married to his first wife and Bill's Mom, Pamela Laraine (Pattison) Graham (deceased). He married second wife Terry (Stoneking) Graham, Jeff and Jen's Mom, in 1983. Roy was briefly married once more before being chased down in 2007 by his current wife Shere (AKA #4 "Best & Last!"). Their motto is "It's never too late to live happily ever after !" They were married on Halloween (same as his parents) in 2010 on a sailboat on Longboat Key, Florida. Roy was proud to be called Shere's "Trophy Husband!"
Roy attended Queen of the Holy Rosary Elementary School and graduated from Shawnee Mission West in 1965. He was proud to tell you he was in the bottom third of his graduating class, although he was gifted with incredible intelligence and achieved great recognition and career success. He was known for his razor-sharp wit and unfiltered remarks.
Roy inherited his great mechanical aptitude from his father and was a "Master of all Trades." He got his first job while still in high school at a Phillips 66 service station. After beginning his Hallmark career in 1965, he reluctantly retired in 2013 after forty-eight years of service. He managed the Creative Technology Services Department, and his staff was instrumental in Hallmark's transition from film to digital processing. He traveled the world for work, including trips to China, the UK, and the Netherlands.
One of his career highlights was working on the presidential Christmas card artwork with the White House for several years. He took the greatest pride in mentoring his devoted staff and helping them grow in their careers.
During his Hallmark career, Roy joined the Air Force Reserves and served as a Loadmaster, calculating weights manually (before computers were invented!)
Roy and his brother Larry began practicing Aikido, a modern Japanese martial art, emphasizing non-violent self-defense techniques. He was an assistant instructor
and dedicated to his practice of Aikido, attaining the level of second-degree Black Belt before finally retiring after nearly twenty years due to back pain.
In addition to Aikido, Roy enjoyed Science Fiction, movies and fishing with his family, flying remote control airplanes, biking, bowling, and running, including numerous 5K runs for charity. He even proudly completed the Chicago Marathon! He was also an accomplished sailor and achieved his American Sailing Association Certification for Offshore Bareboat Sailing in San Diego. Recently he resumed playing Bridge with Larry and they attained one Master Point! Roy also volunteered his expertise in a non-diving role supporting the Lee's Summit Underwater Rescue Team.
Roy's preferred pronouns were "He/Him" and he eschewed all things he considered "woke." He enjoyed browsing Facebook and sending messages to his many friends. Although he was a strong advocate and registered organ donor, sadly he used all of his up and was unable to donate.
Roy was affectionately known as a "Crazy Cat Daddy" and spoiled many lucky cats including Josie, Cubbie, Lilly, Garrett, Daisy and Coco. Although he favored the Cornish Rex cat breed (in case he hadn't told you!), he happily welcomed Pippa, a Peekapoo mix, into his menagerie last year and also spoiled her rotten.
If you've gotten this far, you'll know that Roy probably didn't want flowers for his service but would encourage you to buy flowers for a loved one. If you'd like to donate in his memory, please consider the KC Pet Project https://donate.kcpetproject.org/fundraiser/5736191; Friends of Recovery Association (a non-profit supporting local Oxford Houses) https://friendsofrecovery.com/ ; the Make A Wish Foundation of Kansas & Missouri https://wish.org/mokan, or a non-profit of your choice. Whew!
Although born a curmudgeon, Roy mellowed out in recent years and was happiest when with his family. He was known by several monikers, including "Roy Bean", "Bear," and his favorite, "Trophy Husband." His greatest joys were helping others solve problems, spending time with friends and family, and ordering jackets and shirts online. He will be greatly missed by his many wives, his family, friends, neighbors and his Amazon delivery driver.