Robert Leslie Graham was born in January 9, 1920 in Saratoga, Iowa and passed away on October 9, 2016 in Mankato. He graduated from high school in Riceville, Iowa in 1943 and was working for Hormel when he received a draft notice. Graham joined the U.S. Navy, trained to be a radio operator and was assigned to the USS Louisville. After his service he enrolled at Austin Community College. He transferred to Mankato State Teachers College and graduated in 1952 with a bachelor’s in chemistry, then completed a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota in 1954. He taught at Grandview College for a year before enrolling at the University of Virginia. Graham taught at DuPont in Virginia for a year and then at Virginia Tech for four years before joining the faculty at Mankato State College in 1964. He retired in 1989. Graham married Marie Payne Graham on June 15, 1957. They have one child.
