Delores Graham, 92
Delores Graham, age 92 of Nashua, died Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City.
A private family service was held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory/Olson Chapel in Nashua with the Rev. Sarah Namukose officiating. Those who wanted to attend virtually, the funeral will be broadcast on Facebook Live on the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home Facebook page.
Interment was held at Oak Hill Cemetery in Nashua, with Andrew Graham, Jill Graham, Erin Johnson, Emily Gehling, Brad Powers, and Kara Graham as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers were Delores’s great-grandchildren and Danny Bilharz.
Delores was born on March 28, 1929, to John and Gertrude (Schneider) Albaugh on her parents’ farm that was located east of Nashua. She was the oldest of the couple’s three daughters, and like many farm kids in that era, Delores attended country school and helped her parents with a variety of chores on the farm. She later attended and graduated from Nashua High School.
She met her future husband, Robert Graham, at a dance and the two fell in love and exchanged vows on March 6, 1948, in Austin, Minnesota, and the couple began their married life on a farm near Nashua.
The family grew to include four children – Sharon, Robert, Leslie, and Joan — who had a mother who taught them many valuable life lessons. It was important to Delores that her children show respect to others and have a generous heart.
When Robert took a job at White Farm in Charles City, the family moved into Nashua, spent a short time in Charles City, and then moved back to Nashua.
In her younger days, Delores enjoyed camping, and she and her husband also enjoyed their bowling leagues. She also loved going shopping with her kids.
As much as she loved her children, she adored her seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She loved spending time with them and was proud of each and every one of them.
Delores worked for a number of years at the nursing home, where she took excellent care of the residents, but she retired when her husband’s health began to fail. She was an excellent caregiver to Robert, and his death in 2012 was difficult yet she persevered and remained active.
Delores lived her life authentically and approached those around her with understanding and without judgment. She was direct and to the point, and left everyone around her laughing with her quick wit and sly sense of humor. She loved the color purple, cardinals, and insisting that no one fuss over her. She will leave a legacy through fond and funny memories, good food cherished by multiple generations of family (who didn’t love her Maid Rites, ham and pickle rollups, and peanut butter cookies with the chocolate stars?), and lessons on how to be a good and respectful person.
Delores was a member of the United Methodist Church.
As difficult as her passing is for those who knew and loved her, they also know that she has been reunited with her husband and are grateful for the time and love she gave to her family and friends.
Delores is survived by her four children, Sharon Haskovec of Charles City, Robert (Diane) Graham Jr. of Gardner, Kansas, Leslie (Barb) Graham of Eyota, Minnesota, and Joan Graham of Nashua; seven grandchildren 10 great-grandchildren; and her brother-in-law, Dick Vohsman of Denver, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 64 years, Robert, in 2012; her two sisters, Donna (Bill) Randolph and Jane Vohsman; a granddaughter, Melanie Graham; and a son-in-law, James Haskovec.
