Gerald Anthony Graham passed away peacefully December 12, 2011, at Rocky Mountain Care Center, surrounded by his loving family. <\/p>\n
Jerry was born April 29, 1931 to Robert and Elizabeth \u201cLiz\u201d Graham. He was raised in East Helena and attended Helena High School. He later attended the Oregon Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a degree in drafting. Jerry served in the United States Air Force from 1950 \u2013 1954. This service included a tour of duty in the Philippine Islands during the Korean Conflict. In 1953, he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Louise Grose at SS Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in East Helena. The couple lived in Florida until the end of Jerry\u2019s military duty. They then moved back to East Helena where they would build their lives and raise their family. <\/p>\n
In 1958, he began his professional career as a draftsman at Morrison-Maierle Consulting Engineers. In the early 70\u2019s, he spent a year overseas with a handful of co-workers designing roads and infrastructure in Vietnam. Jerry spent 37 years at Morrison – Maierle, working hard among the many people that he called friends. While he took great pride in his work, he also took pride in winning the pinochle game played almost daily around the lunch room table. <\/p>\n
In his free time, Jerry enjoyed hunting, fishing, and the great outdoors. In his later years, golf became his passion. Of course there was always time for the occasional evening pinochle game with friends. Every year brought a new vacation destination. Though not extravagant, the family vacations will be kept in the hearts and memories of his kids forever. <\/p>\n
Jerry was very active in SS Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, and was recently presented with the Monsignor Mavsar award for excellent service. He belonged to the Knights of Columbus, and was a member of the VFW Post 10010. He sat on the St. Ann\u2019s Cemetery board, and was a Councilman for the City of East Helena. He spent many hours with his good friend, Peter Petek, helping beautify St Ann\u2019s Cemetery. When someone needed a helping hand, Jerry\u2019s hand was among the first extended. <\/p>\n
Jerry is survived by his wife Mary Louise of East Helena. His children Doug (Linda) Graham of Helena, Paul (Beckie) Graham of Helena, and Janet (Don) Gies of Belgrade. Grandchildren Brian and Nick Graham, Kelli (Jeff) Hoffman, Justin, Beth, Krissy and Sara Gies, Adam, Amy and Alex Graham of Florida, and Chase Elizabeth Graham. Great Grandchildren Sam Hoffman and baby Zoee, as well as many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and countless cousins and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Richard Graham, and son James Allen (Linda) Graham. <\/p>\n
Jerry will always be remembered for his sense of humor. When his health failed, his ability to bring happiness remained. So remember, no matter how bad things get, keep smiling and don\u2019t throw your clubs! Funeral services will be Thursday December 22, 2011 at 1:00 PM at SS Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church. A reception will follow preceding the burial at St. Anns cemetery. Memorials may be sent to St. Ann\u2019s Cemetery, the Talking Book program at the Montana State Library, or an organization of your choice.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/534810_profile_pic.png","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/1002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}