Billy Gene "Bill" Graham

BILLY GENE "BILL" GRAHAM Memorial services for longtime Cortez resident Billy Gene "Bill" Graham will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 15 at the Cortez First United Methodist Church with Pastor Tom Towns officiating. Bill was born September 8, 1927 in Kay County, Okla. the son of John Fulton and Ethel Nora (Tipton) Graham. He passed away at the Valley Inn Nursing Home in Mancos on Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at the age of 86. On August 12, 1949 in Denver, Colo., Bill married Virginia Elizabeth Doerges. They shared 64 years of marriage. Bill was a member of and Past Master of both Cortez and Rico Masonic Lodges. He was a Worthy Patron of Eastern Star. Bill was also a devoted member of the Cortez First United Methodist Church. For many years, he owned and operated Macorada Farm Store. Bill retired as the Maintenance Supervisor for Southwest Memorial Hospital. He was an avid coin collector and enjoyed reading. Bill is survived by his wife, Virginia Graham of Cortez; children, Kathrine Johnson of Cortez, Neal H. Graham of Page, Ariz., Carol Graham of Farmington, N.M., and Jim Graham and wife, Michele of Loveland, Colo.; 13 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren; two brothers, John Graham and wife, Trilla of Raton, N.M., and Israel "Curley" Graham of Rancho Cordova, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Ethel Graham; and five brothers and one sister. Memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer's Association for Research.