Post 2001 Member and WWII Veteran Passes
Richard (Dick) Stanley Graff
August 18, 1924 – April 13, 2024
married to Jean Lockwood Graff, June 12, 1949 – August 6, 2021
children Rick, Cindy, Bob, and Judy.
Born on a farm outside Popejoy, Iowa, Dick was the sixth child and only son of Chris and Rosa Graff, who had immigrated from Germany as children. His father died when Dick was five but he remembered riding with him in their horse-drawn wagon to get to town, his one-room schoolhouse, and the day that electricity came to their rural area.
Gratitude was a central theme of Dick’s life and he was grateful for 72 years with his wife, Jean, his college sweetheart at Iowa State University, who he married June 12, 1949. He was very grateful that, unlike so many World War II buddies, he came home from combat in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. He was grateful that he was able, through the GI Bill, to be the first in his family to go to college.
After earning his master’s degree in industrial engineering at Iowa State, he and Jean moved to Cedar Rapids where his career in systems engineering and management began. Their four children were born there: He was an active father, teaching his kids everything from scientific concepts to how to drink beer in moderation. He and Jean passed on their sense of curiosity and love of travel to their children; the family enjoyed memorable vacations and frequent trips to visit family in Iowa. They tried to visit every national park in the country; they succeeded in walking through all 50 state capitol buildings.
In 1972, his engineering career eventually took him to the headquarters of the US Postal Service in Washington, DC. Jean and Dick’s lovely home in Vienna, Virginia, was the center of many gatherings of family and friends. They were among the first people to move to Ashby Ponds when it first opened in 2010, and greatly enjoyed their years at Ashby Ponds, active in clubs and sports. His involvement with the History Club led to an exciting and rewarding chapter in his life: a middle school teacher saw his display of WWII memorabilia at the club history fair and invited him to share his experiences with her students. The word spread and soon he was speaking of the human costs of war to thousands of students in classrooms and auditoriums. He treasured their letters to him and the chance to ride a WWII float in the Washington Memorial Day Parade twice when in his 90s.
Dick Graff lived an exceptionally rich life, focused on family and friends and full of fun, laughter, and love. Thanks to his friendliness and innate interest in people and their stories, he “never met a stranger.” He wanted to make every encounter a positive one and it worked: his quick smile and sense of humor were contagious. He will be remembered as a devoted husband, father and grandfather with a deep commitment to make each day matter.
Dick Graff was a loyal member of the Leonard W. Kidd Memorial American Legion Post 2001 of Ashburn, VA, and embodied and exemplified the spirit of the Legion value of Americanism by frequently speaking to school children about Veterans and his WWII experiences.
