IAN GRAHAM

1931 - 2020

GRAHAM--Ian H. July 27, 1931 - September 28, 2020. Known as "Mighty" on the football field, Ian H. Graham, the son of Scottish parents from Northern New Jersey, was an athlete, entrepreneur, philanthropist, husband and father. Mr. Graham was a self made man who came from a blue collar town and credited several people for putting him on a path to success including his parents who sacrificed to send him to the prep school, Peddie School, his football coach who taught him the intricacies of the game, one of his teachers who became his mentor and his wife, world famous photographer, Ellen Graham. Early on, Graham said that it was the Peddie School, where he graduated in 1950, that "Turned him around in the right direction." During his prep school years he was the captain of the football team, a member of the varsity wrestling and golf teams, secretary of the Gold Key Society, president of his senior class, and student prefect of his dormitory. After graduating Rutgers in 1954, he was recommended for a position in the carpet industry, where he worked for several years honing his business skills and coming up with the slogan, "Home means more with carpet on the floor." Moving into the insurance business in the 1980s, he soon founded his own company, Ian H. Graham Insurance, Inc. first to sell liability protection to condominium associations. New York City was seeing a slew of buildings converted into condos and co-ops and Graham skillfully identified the opportunity. As he said "About 70 percent of co-ops came through my office. I created an industry and then expanded to boards of cemeteries, yacht clubs and others." In 1999 he sold his private insurance company to Aon Corporation and he and his wife, Ellen, split their time between Florida, California, New York and Europe with golf turning into a lifelong passion. As a philanthropist, Graham remained loyal to Peddie through service and lifetime contributions. "I want Peddie to have the best facilities," he said of his dedication to improvements to the state-of-the-art Ian H. Graham Athletic Center which was named in his honor after a large gift in 1997. "When I was there, we had a bathtub as a pool." "I strongly believe in giving back, and I'm delighted I'm able to provide great opportunities to students. It's inspiring to see the impact of the gifts I have made." Ian Graham had a strong sense of gratitude becoming the school's third most generous benefactor behind Walter H. Annenberg '27 and Finn M.W. Caspersen '59 and he served as Trustee Emeritus. Thanks to Graham's latest gift to Peddie, the Athletic Center was upgraded this winter (2019) with two new wooden basketball courts, a curtain system and a resurfaced indoor track. He is survived by his wife Ellen Graham and his son Alexis Graham. Photo of Ian Graham in Beverly Hills, CA, 1970 by Ellen Graham.