Dolores “Dee” Davis Graham
Longtime Ferguson-Florissant School Principal
Dr. Graham died at her home on July 10, 2020.
After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Liberal Arts Degree at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois, Dr. Graham taught English at the Laboratory School at Southern Illinois University. Later, she earned a Master’s Degree at Washington University and a Doctorate of Philosophy at Saint Louis University.
For thirty-four years, Dr. Graham made significant contributions in the field of education as teacher, counselor, and administrator. She was instrumental in earning National Recognition for School Excellence awards for McCluer North High School and Cross Keys Middle School. Furthermore while attending the Saint Louis Principal’s Academy, she was chosen to attend Harvard University’s Summer Institute designed to recognize principals who took leadership roles in school reform. She co-authored several articles and a book entitled, Curriculum Architecture, Creating a Place of Our Own. The book was donated to the National Middle School Association and used by many educators.
But Dr. Graham will best be remembered as a student advocate, one who was selected by students as being the most influential person in their lives. Students called her “Doc” Graham, friends called her “Dee.”
She was preceded in death by her father, Charles Lee Davis; mother, Bertha Hester Davis Woosley; stepfather, Kenneth S. Woosley; sister, Jessie Lee Petersen; brother, David A. Davis, and nephews, David A. Davis II and Deon Lee Davis.
Dr. Graham’s body will be donated to the National Body Donor Program of St. Louis, but her burial pillow will be located in the family plot at Mueller Hill Cemetery, Pinckneyville, Illinois.