Obituary

Louis Graff, 89, long-time resident of Ann Arbor, died peace fully on Wednesday, January 5, 2011. He was born in Kalamazoo, MI, son of Moses and Mamie Graff.He graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School and then attended Kalamazoo College, the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago. After graduation, he was English Master at The Cranbrook School (Mich.), Assistant. Dean and Director of Admissions at St. John's College (Annapolis, Md.), and teaching fellow in philosophy at the University of Michigan. While a student at the U of M, he met and married Nancy Mae Ostergren of Detroit. She would become his life-long partner. After leaving the field of education, Lou Graff began a professional career as science writer for the U of M. He served as press secretary to Thomas Francis, Jr., M.D., the director of the Salk polio vaccine evaluation project. He wrote the first public news release of the successful trials of the vaccine, an event rated second most newsworthy in 1955 by the Associated Press, still regarded as an historic health event. He then became Director of PR and Advertising for Michigan Blue Cross/ Blue Shield for six years. He received a number of awards including the Umbrella Award from the Art Directors Club of Detroit for institutional advertising, an award for design excellence for annual reports, and an award from the Detroit Academy of Advertising Arts for outstanding public service television production. He formed his own firm in 1963 and was retained as consultant to the Minnesota Blue Shield organization, and several hospitals. He was also consultant to the Greater Detroit Area Hospital Council. In 1970, he returned to the U of M where he became the first Director of Health Sciences Relations for the U of M Medical Center, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Public Health, the Dental School, and the School of Nursing. He was contributing columnist to HOSPITALS, the official journal of the American Hospital Association, consulting editor to the Ann Arbor-based Health Administration Press, and special writer for the Ann Arbor News. In 1979, Lou Graff became Vice President for Community Relations for the Catherine McAuley Health Center. He retired from CMHC in April 1984, and became special assistant to the President of the Sisters of Mercy Health Corp. until 1985. After retirement, he pursued a number of interests: raising tropical fish, reading, listening to classical music, photography, fishing, dining out and dry martinis, talking to truckers on his cb, and giving advice to his children and grand-children, mostly unheeded. He loved traveling and logged thousands of miles and memories in the United States and in Europe. Louis Graff is survived by his four children, David (Colorado Springs), Peter (Edina, MN), Kim (Ann Arbor) and Wendy (The Woodlands, TX), eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and closest friend, Nan Bender. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Nancy, a former elementary school teacher for the Ann Arbor School District. There will be a celebration of both Lou and Nancy this spring. Memorials may be directed to Hospice of Michigan and Sunrise Senior Living at North Ann Arbor.