Daymon Harold Graham

Daymon Harold Graham passed away December 31, 2018, in Waco Texas. A memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 5, 2019, at the Christus Chapel at Providence Park in Waco. Daymon was born the eldest child of A.B. and Eva Davis Graham in Turnersville, Texas, on January 27, 1929. The family would spend the Depression years sharecropping cotton in several locations in Coryell County before his father took a loan of $10,000 in 1940 and bought 150 acres near Purmela. The family built a new three-bedroom house on the property that has been continuously occupied since. Daymon originally planned to continue the family’s agricultural tradition, but a hot Texas summer spent atop a combine convinced him otherwise. Instead, he enrolled at the University of Texas, ultimately graduating with a degree in aeronautical engineering and a draft order for the Marines during the Korean Conflict. Following an honorable discharge, Daymon took a position as a production engineer at Lone Star Steel in East Texas, where he met and married Virginia Redfern in 1955. Two daughters, Sylvia Beth and Greta Carol, would follow. In 1963, Daymon took a position as a wind tunnel engineer with General Dynamics in Ft. Worth, where he and his team would test and refine models for what would become the A-12 and F16, among others. In 1992, he and second wife, Betty, retired to Lake Granbury, where he developed keen interests in watercraft, stained glass making, and ribbing his neighbors about their respective sports teams’ misfortunes. In 2016 Daymon moved to Waco where he met and entertained his fellow residents of the Providence Village with stories, mostly true, and pranks that included impersonating the President of the United States. Daymon will be missed by family and friends as a good natured soul who was kind and always willing to help those in need. Daymon was a Christian man and father and a lifelong Methodist. He was an avid football and baseball fan, spending many hours agonizing over the wins and losses of the Cowboys, Rangers and Texas Longhorns. Daymon also loved engineering marvels, dominoes, and a good deal. He disliked long goodbyes which means that he probably would not have cared much for this obituary. Daymon is survived by sister, Lillie Grossman of Salinas, California; daughter, Sylvia and husband, Bob Lemley, of Lorena; daughter, Greta Graham of Benbrook; grandsons, Chris Lemley and wife, Megan, of Temple and Carlton Lemley and wife, Abigail, of India; and great grandsonsn “Hotshot” Graham and Noam Lemley; nephew, Courtney Grossman and wife, Lara, of Salinas, California; and great nieces, Catherine and Elisabeth Grossman. He is also survived by special friend, Donnie Harlan, and many precious friends of The Village, including Tiger the cat. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.