Doris Maxine Graham

Doris Maxine Graham 90, peacefully departed this life for her heavenly home on February 24, 2015, at Manor Care in West Des Moines, Iowa. A memorial service will be held on Friday, February 27, 2015, at 2:00 PM at The Cathedral Church of St Paul, 815 High Street, Des Moines, Iowa. Born in Des Moines on December 19, 1924, Maxine attended public schools here and graduated from North High School in 1942. After graduation she moved to Oakland, California, where she was employed by the Department of Human Services. An opportunity to work for the school system in the Head Start-Follow Through Program as a home school worker brought her back to Des Moines. Maxine obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in education from Drake University and began her teaching career at Garton Elementary School. She loved being in the classroom, and she set high standards for herself as well as for her students. In 1990 she retired as a teacher of Language Arts at Goodrell Middle School. In retirement, Maxine enjoyed reading, cooking, sewing, traveling with her husband, Herman, in their motor home, and making friends wherever they went. For many years they enjoyed winters in Arizona. Maxine was devoted to her family. She is survived by Herman Sr., her husband of 40 years, her sons, Kevin (Tamera) Guess and Michael Guess; her stepchildren, Herman Jr. (Belinda), Marilynn (Fred) Liddell, Cheryl (William) Anderson, six grandchildren; Emily Schlenker, Maxine Jackson, William Jackson, Kevin Porter, Herman Graham III and Anthony Weston and a host of relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents Curtis M. and Ethel Cooley, her special family Branham, Stella and Robert Hyde, her first husband, Frank Guess, two brothers, Marvin and Eugene Cooley, sister, Veltry Cooley, and stepdaughter Frankie Bridges. The family requests that any memorial contributions be directed to Kavanagh House, 900 56th Street, Des Moines, Iowa, The American Cancer Society, 8364 Hickman Road, Des Moines, Iowa, or The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 815 High Street, Des Moines, Iowa.