Janis "Jan" McGraw

On December 12th, Jan McGraw left her family and friends to move along on her soul’s journey. Born in 1924, she died in St. Augustine, Florida after reaching her first century. In Janis’s early years in Parsons, West Virginia, her English teacher mother Elsie taught her the things that a young lady of that day should know, and her doting, mine engineer father taught her the skills a young man might need to survive and prosper. Hunting dogs, the woods, the mountains and her pet spider monkey taught her the rest. Her creativity, appreciation for the natural world, and intellectual acuity were polished by these divergent experiences. She enjoyed the attention of being a homecoming queen at WVU, but then studied a little harder at Duke as a specialist in laboratory technology. After university work, she reunited with an ornery, but mostly good natured USN Lt. JG she was to spend her life with. Her marriage with a bright-eyed Naval Aviator Bill in 1944 ended with his passing in 2017. Those 73 years were beyond rich with achievements and adventures of every description. To the extent they were able to absorb it, Jan’s three kids…Susan, Molly, and Mack…, received her lessons of wisdom. There were many. Janis was mother to Susan McGraw Aqeel, Molly McGraw Doran, and Bill McGraw. She was Grandmother to Omar Farouk Aqeel (Frank), Sarah Casey Doran (Amanda), Peter Barnard Doran (Stephanie), Moira Francis Doran Locigno (Dominic), Margeaux Roman McGraw (Dave) and Great-grandmother to Harper Doran, Luke Locigno, Nan Doran-Patten, Maddie Locigno and Casey Doran-Patten. After getting her children off on lives of their own, she found her passion in traditional sculpting in stone, clay, and bronze. She approached that art seriously and sought formal training here and abroad. Her works were appreciated at a number of shows, and now add cheer to the homes of family and a few permanent public venues. She reveled in the rewarding work that put calluses on her hands, broke her fingernails, and seeded her silver hair with alabaster dust. During her long and productive life, Jan made homes for her family in Bucyrus and Catawba Island, Ohio, Boca Raton, Amelia Island, and St. Augustine in Florida. She knew her strengths and limits, she was socially generous and thrived in any setting. She was able with a shotgun, teaching her son how to take a squirrel from the tree to the table, leading the troop of Girl Scouts for her daughters, or entertaining international business guests in her own home with cheerful labor. Eagerly alongside her husband Bill, they sailed rocky northern coasts in summer, and played with foreign business friends and customers till the small hours in some of the great cities of Europe. But she was always most charmed by the tiny, miraculous things that nature had going on in her garden. Most all of her friends have “gone ahead” of her, but her three septuagenarian kids promise to be firm when necessary, kind when we can, be civil and mind our manners at all times. These three “kids” will be celebrating her memorial in the spring at the family plot at Oakwood Cemetery in Bucyrus, Ohio

Janis "Jan" McGraw

June 25, 1924 - December 12, 2024