Adaire Lehmkuhl Graham

Graham, Adaire Lehmkuhl

age 86, of Tampa, Florida, passed away peacefully on September 4, 2025, surrounded by family.

She was born in New York City on May 31, 1939, to Claire Davidson Lehmkuhl and Dr. Mark Montgomery Lehmkuhl. While her father served overseas as a medical officer with General Patton's Third Army in World War II, she and her mother lived with relatives until the family was reunited after the war. Her childhood took her from Clarks Green, Pennsylvania, to Cooperstown, New York, where she graduated from Cooperstown Central School in 1957.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology, with a minor in French, from Rollins College in 1961 and studied at the University of Grenoble in France. During her summers in college, she worked at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, conducting research alongside Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, who was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his groundbreaking work in bone marrow transplantation. There she met the love of her life, Paul Albert Graham, a young medical extern. They married on June 17, 1961, at Christ Church in Cooperstown, beginning an extraordinary life together. While Paul completed his medical internship, she worked in the research lab in the Department of Biophysics at Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

As the wife of an Army medical officer, she lived in Yuma, AZ, Washington, D.C., Monterey, CA, and Fort Meade, MD. After several years in Orlando, she and Paul settled for many years in Vero Beach, FL, where he was a general surgeon in private practice and she worked in his office in the years after their children were grown. They retired to Valrico, FL in 2004. She was always active in her community, translating medical lectures into French for the hospital ship Hope, volunteering on political campaigns, and presenting "suitcase exhibits" in elementary schools through the John Young Museum and Planetarium. She had a heart for helping women in crisis through organizations like SafeSpace Florida and the Vero Beach Crisis Pregnancy Center. She also served the body of Christ by teaching Sunday school, discipling new Christians, and serving on the Vestry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach.

She was a voracious reader who also delighted in her grandchildren, sewing, needlework, cooking, current affairs, lobster, chocolate cake, ice cream, and shelties. Jesus Christ was the Lord of her life, and she lived each day with purpose and devotion. Her legacy is one of love, service, humor, and faith.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 52 years, Paul A. Graham, MD. She is survived by her children: Paul (Beth) Graham Jr. of Greensboro, NC, and their children Mark (Stephanie), Matthew, and Nathaniel; Drew (Betsy) Graham of Tampa, FL, and their children Jack, Ben, and Charlotte; Claire (Stephen) Frieder of Los Gatos, CA, and their children Jane, Will, Daniel, and Grace; and Bethany (Sam) Burge of Marietta, GA, and their children Faith Ann and Adaire.

The family wishes to express deep gratitude to the staff of Allegro Hyde Park and her dedicated caregivers, Jo Arong and Gerda Lefranc, for their faithful and compassionate care.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to Tampa General Hospital Foundation in her memory.

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